My kids were watching a documentary on human anatomy and I heard an expert in the subject say that something like “The human body was designed to move. The more we stretch our muscles the stronger they become and not weaker. It’s the lack of physical of activity that kills us not vice versa.”

I almost hear/read once weekly: “Exercise regularly and eat healthy food”. This simple phrase really ticked in my mind clearly when the expert demonstrated with image what happens to the heart, brain, arteries, veins and muscles when the body is active. The more the body is trained the more capable it is to overcome other challenges. However, all depends on how the human mind is conditioned, disciplined and willing.

To build muscles we need to subject ourselves to weight lifting. These loads bring resistance to our muscles and this resistance causes pain and tiredness. In exchange of this pain, our muscles build up. When our muscles become stronger, these loads which were once hard to lift have now become inadequate to bring resistance to our muscles (even though they are still the same). The reverse is also true when we do not exercise. We gain unhealthy weights and it becomes more difficult to get rid of bad habits. We start becoming lazy, tired and the weights which we were once able to lift become more difficult to lift when our muscle reduce in volume.

Similarly, if you want your spiritual muscles to become stronger, you must face resistance, support life’s burdens, endure trials and persevere. Carrying burdens that bring no resistance will have negligible effect. Similarly, doping will have only provide temporary or unnatural strength . We will only be fooling ourselves if we think we’ll become mature Christians if we refuse to go through trials, the fiery furnace and allow ourselves molded by the Potter’s hand. Many times we dope our spirituality by knowledge without evidence of spiritual growth.

This is what Paul said to Timothy:

“Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. ² You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. ⁵ And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. ⁶ And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. ⁷ Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.” 2 Tim. 2 1-7

“Think about what I am saying”. I want to pause here. It’s time to read this verse again.

May the Lord help you understand ALL these things!

Look at the words Paul used “Be strong, endure suffering, soldier of Christ Jesus, don’t get tied up in civil work, athletes, follow the rules, hardworking farmers“

Paul said to Timothy:  “Instead, train yourself to be godly.  “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”  1 Tim. 4:8

Do you see that for a disciple to become like His Master there necessarily needs to be a life of discipline? We must be set apart and be refined like gold (see this post). If you’re a minister serving the King Jesus, you must be a spiritually “professional” and not an amateur in God’s church. By professional, I do not mean excellency in management, paperwork or intelligence. One needs to be godly and have spiritual discipline in the Word and prayer.

For student to become a laureate or earn a scholarship, he must exercise himself mentally. He must sacrifice pleasures to spend time learning and become more knowledgeable. A chess master has spent hours practicing and played against strong opponents to become better. I quickly realized I was not good in calculus when I met students from other schools. I had to admit there was much room from improvement.

We often think we are spiritually strong because those around us are weak. In fact, we could be spiritually skinny when compared to the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11) or Jesus Christ who is the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2).

How do great footballers became excellent in what they do?

How do sprinters cover 100m in few seconds?

How do soldiers stand against the enemy?

How do farmers receive a great harvest or a high number of animal headcount?

There is a common denominator to all those question: Work.

Work in the scorching sun ploughing the land. Burning the midnight candle when everyone is sleeping. Discipline, sacrifice, exercise…Name it

There’re rules to follow. You cannot set your own rules and exercise how you want or “do it your way” even if God has gifted you with a ministry. You need to follow the master’s voice. To become a high performer as a soldier, the latter cannot engage himself at the same time in civilian affairs when his body is required to be trained for battle. A part-time athlete has less chance to become a world class one if his time/energy is divided.

Similarly, a Christian cannot be a part-timer and expect to become mature if his life is not consistent. A Christian cannot be disciple only at church and not at work (where there are more challenges and adversity). It is easier to demonstrate “Christian” character among lambs. At work the Christian face adversity and his character is tested in the words spoken, how he deals with money and how he performs his work. It is indeed among difficult people that Christian’s character is best tested.

How can a Christian overcome sin? It is by facing temptation. God allows temptation to come to us, not to cause us to fall but to become stronger. Enduring temptation or resisting the devil are burdens indeed but not crush us but to be prayerfully lifted up in Jesus name to strengthen our spiritual muscles.

“No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].” 1 Cor. 10:13

In fact James said:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything“ James 1:2

The key here is perseverance. Facing adversity one day and fleeing is not what will make us stronger. However, facing life’s trials a day at a time is what will make us stronger. Perseverance is a very difficult mindset because we do not see the results on the first day or the next day. It’s a very lengthy process and the results are seen gradually. Let perseverance finish its work the apostle says. Life’s trials/persecutions are our spiritual barbells. These strengthen our muscles and will not kill us. I remember the first time I ran 10 kilometers when I was a kid on steep tracks. I felt my heart beating so fast, was feeling pain everywhere and wanted to abandon the race. However, I kept running and finished the race. I kept going because I saw my fellow comrades enduring and sweating like me. This is why being in a Christian community is important. We are all running a race, at our own pace, but surely going to the same finish line. The important thing is to finish the race victoriously.

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:7

Paul appealed the Corinthians to spiritual discipline:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷ No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.“

With age physical strength and mental ability naturally decrease but not so with spiritual muscles. If Moses was skinny on the outside when he was a centenary, on the inside he was surely one of the strongest man who ever lived due to his “spiritual muscles”.

This is why the authors of the Epistle to the Hebrews calls us to look at the heroes of faith. See how they did, kept the faith and persevered.

“We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. ¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Heb. 6:12

It was not inhuman what they accomplished. They had flesh and blood like us. It was discipline that brought them this far.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” Heb. 12:1

A pastor cannot make you become mature Christian. He can only instruct you how to lift weights as a coach. You have to lift up your own burden, get rid of your sins and carry the yoke that Jesus gives you to strengthen your muscles (Mat. 11:28). The pastor can help you face trials like a coach helping you pushing the barbells. However, do not forget that this is your trial, not his.

“take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light“

John the Baptist was carved by the bareness of the wilderness, Elijah by the wickedness of Achab, Joseph by the treason of his brothers, Moses by false accusation and rejection of his own people, David by wrath of Absalom, Daniel by lions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by a fiery furnace and the apostles by persecutions.

God is at work in us. If you’re not facing trials, adversity, resistance or difficulties it means without any doubt that your spiritual muscles are at rest. It is a good thing to rest if you just went through one. However, if you live a life without troubles then you need to question yourself if you’re allowing God to disciple you as a Father discipline his legitimate sons and daughters.

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Heb. 12:11

If your spiritual muscles are at rest for a long time and not exercising then you’ll grow weaker and become an easy prey for the devil. The conclusion here is not to pray for trials and adversity but rather to submit ourselves to the Father’s will and let Him transform us into the image of His Son (2 Cor. 3:18).

Paul said to the Corinthians:

“Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith” 2 Cor. 13:5

What is your spiritual fitness?

1.Are you cold, lukewarm or hot?

2. What dominates your life? The fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of the flesh?

3. Are you equipped with the spiritual armors (Eph. 6:10) or unequipped for spiritual battle ?

“The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” Ps. 46:7

1. We fear not with what happens in this world

Our personality, moral strength or physical strength usually influence how we deal with situations. When we lack the abilities, we feel insecure and insecurity brings fears/anxiety. Anxiety is often sign of lacking trust and dependence on God for Jesus said:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Mat. 6:25

Fear of losing a partner, fear of facing danger, fear of losing a job, fear of not being able to win a battle against sickness, fear of not being able to provide the needs of the family, fear of death, fear of failing to pass exams…Name it, there’re many reasons to fear in this world. 

Some people have been able to overcome some fears (e.g. spiders, rats) but there’re some kinds of situations that would trigger fears in every human being. What if the very soil where you lay your feet is no longer able to support you? What if the water that is keeping you afloat is totally raging and leaving you with no escape? Where would you flee?

The Psalmist tells us that if God is our refuge and strength, we ought not to fear even though there are calamities everywhere.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Ps. 46:1-3

The Psalmist tells us not to fear.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth“

But for fear to vanish it necessarily requires faith and trust in God.

“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.” Ps. 125:1

The remedy to every kind of fear is faith in God. Daniel was left in the lions’ den but he remained calm even though his enemies concocted evil plans against him. God was his shield.

“And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” Daniel 6:23

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had the same attitude and would not bow down before foreign gods. They trusted Yahweh to save them from whatever evil was plotted against them.

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” Daniel 3:16

David had several enemies who wanted at all cost to kill him, he went through all kind of dangers and said: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” Ps. 23:4

2. The devil is at work but we do not fear him

One may have the strength to fight against lions, have fire protective equipment to save from a blazing furnace or have money to find a cure to a deadly disease. But no human can fight against the prince of this world. A body builder can helplessly be tormented by the devil, his muscles will be of no use. The richest person on earth will never be able to escape the power of the devil because this is a spiritual battle that cannot be won in the physical realm.

When the devil tempted Jesus, Satan said that everything in this world belonged to him and was under his control (John 4:6).

This is what the devil said: “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.“

John also abound in the same sense that this world is under the dominion of Satan “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one” 1 John 5:19

So let us not be surprised that the rulers, the judges and law enforcement fail to provide proper justice. They are all under the control of the evil one and we should not be surprised if unfair or immoral decisions are taken by them. Let us not trust in them or be dismayed.

Let us not deceive ourselves, the devil does have power in this world that no man can overcome if attacked by him. Let us not not fall in the disillusion that Satan does not plot anything against us.

“So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs“. 2 Cor. 2:11

This is why we are warned of the bible to be equipped with the spiritual armors that the world does not have:

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Eph. 6:11

Jesus did say to watch and pray so that we do not fall into temptation. The apostle Peter also warned:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

The difference between those who are in this world and those who belong to Jesus is this:

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

The followers of Jesus resist the devil and he flees. Those enslaved by Satan have no power to resist the devil, they are possessed and tormented by the devil.

3. He has overcome

The good news is that when Jesus died and rose from the dead, the devil has lost COMPLETE power and authority over His followers.

“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Col. 2:15

“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out” John 12:31

Glory to Jesus who said in John 16:33 : “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”, he also meant that the devil also will not be able to have dominion over us.

The Good News (Gospel) is not only about Jesus dying to forgive our sins but also consists of a life of victory over the devil. In fact, this is a very Good News to the evil possessed that they can be set free.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” Is. 61

The devil has no power whatsoever on those who belong to Jesus. We’re the temple of the Holy Spirit and it is impossible that the devil ever have dominion over us because the current that flows within us is too powerful for the devil to have a toe in.

As long as one remains in Christ, there’s absolutely no way for the devil to touch him.

“We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” 1 John 5:18

This is also what Jesus said:

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one” John 10:28

It is impossible for the devil to overpower God almighty and snatch those who abide in Christ from His hand. This is our eternal security and anchor in Christ, nothing and no one can separate us from God:

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” Rom. 8:38-39

God Himself guarantees that no one will be lost. However, in as much that no one can separate us from God, we should continue to abide in Christ (John 15) and remain in God’s hand. “Remain in me and I will remain in you“, Jesus said.

This is what Jesus said about Judas: “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled” John 17:12

If we want to leave God’s protection, He won’t force us to stay. If salvation can be lost, it would not be because God failed to protect and keep but because of one’s decision to turn away from Him.

“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Soon the Lord will put an end to all the evil schemes and trouble the devil is causing.

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” Rom. 16:20

In the book of Revelation we read that the devil will be casted out and chained in hell forever (Rev. 20:20). His time is counted and until then the devil is still ruling the world .

Jesus said to His disciples:

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” Luke 10:19

The devils conspires to make us fall but thanks be to God that we have an Advocate who defends us before God against the devil’s scheme.

“The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him…Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb” Rev. 12:9

If God is for us who can be against us exclaimed the apostle Paul.

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?” Rom. 8:31

Christians do sin daily but they do not deliberately keep on sinning (Heb.10:26), as those who do not fear not God. The devil thus use those sins to bring charges/accuse us before God.

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Let us not fear anyone or anything. Let us not fear death, the devil and the powers of this world. They may have power over our body but no power on our soul. God almighty has the power to send the devil and his angels in the lake of fire, so if there’s someone to fear it is certainly not the devil but God.

 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Mat. 10:28

Still the true children of God fear not because they remain in God’s love:

“There is no fear in love. Perfect love puts fear out of our hearts. People have fear when they are afraid of being punished. The man who is afraid does not have perfect love” 1 John 4:18

 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs. Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. But one-third will be left in the land. I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zech. 13:7

This is a prophetic verse spoken by Jesus in Mat. 26:31 on the eve of the crucifixion. Is.53:10 mentions that “It pleased to God to crush Him“. On the day of crucifixion, the Shepherd was stricken down by God and this caused the sheep to be scattered. If we read this verse of Zechariah in Hebrew, it is beautifully written as such “I will strike this Man who is my Companion and also the Shepherd“

The hebrew word wahasiḇoṯi translated as “will bring” : means gather or restore

The word “against” (hebrew al) here means over. The hand of God will be over the Shepherd to punish Him and the sheep will be scattered. This is indeed what happened in the book of Acts when there was persecution against Christians, the sheep were scattered. However, when the sheep will be scattered, the hand of God will also be over them but not to punish them as He did with the Shepherd. His hands will be over to form one flock, “the third”.

“I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. ” John 10:16

Comparatively, the other 2 thirds represent those majority of people who do not follow the Shepherd. They will be cut off and die. In fact, Jesus said “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” Mat. 7:13

While it is true that this chapter 13 of Zechariah speaks of the Messiah, the main message is about would happen to those scattered but not abandoned sheep.

1. I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver
    and purify them like gold.

This cleansing will not happen without destruction/removal of what is impure. An ordinary low heat fire cannot be used to purify gold. An intense and continuous heating process is required to achieve the intended purity. In fact, at least 1000 degrees Celsius is required to make gold melt. Once it is molten, gold can be isolated/separated from what is undesired. This metaphor has always been used in the OTby God and Jesus in the NT.

“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. ³ He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord” (Mal. 3:3)

There’s a particular group concerned by this cleansing and this group is considered precious as gold in the eyes of God.

On the final judgment, Jesus said ” All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.” Mat. 25:32

How is this cleaning done? As Paul said, by the Gospel and the Holy Spirit:

“I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:16

a. By the Gospel

We have already “fine” when we have been regenerated in Christ. This is what Jesus said: “You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.“

But Jesus goes even further and says “remain in me, and I will remain in you.”

Further refining occurs when we remain in Christ. The sins that entangles us so easily (Heb. 12:1) and stain us are removed as long as we remain attached to the vine. Though we’re Christians, we still sin and this causes stains like impurities in the gold. The Refiner’s fire will remove those stains. God has given us a white robe and when some mud gets on it, we do all be can to get rid of that mud. We flee away from sin and sexual immorality (2 Tim. 2:2). We do not enjoy having stains on our robe. Pigs enjoy mud because it’s their nature and if we continue to live in sin, we cannot claim to be followers of Jesus.

Hebrews 10:26 says : “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.  There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.“

Peter said: “They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” 2 Peter 2:22

A Christian still regretfully sins but can never be a slave of any sin, have a vice or be overcome. A Christian cannot continue to live in lies, be an idolater, be addicted to alcohol/gambling/work/drug/pornography etc. When we remain in Christ, the holiness of Jesus drives out everything that is unclean. Holiness is what flows in the sap of the Vine and its effect is sanctification. If holiness is not the result of our life, we need to examine if we’re really abiding in Christ. It is impossible for the Vine to bear thorns, it should produce good fruits like the fruit of the Spirit.

There are so many verses which talk about the power of the Word of God to purify the heart and mind of man. I will just quote those word of Jesus in John 15:3 as example: “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

b. Through the Holy Spirit

I will also just quote 2 verses for references:

“And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Cor. 3:18

Galatians 5:16:  “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”

2. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

God always wanted to make a distinction between those people who consider/honor Him as God and those who don’t. Israel was punished many times because they confessed Yahweh as God but dishonored and disobeyed Him. They did not live as the holy people of the Holy God.

1 Peter 2:9 describes the real people of God “ But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

Revelation 18:4 says “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her”

The church means ekklesia. This word is the Greek words kaleo (to call), with the prefix ek (out). Thus, the word means “the called out ones.” God had a covenant with the nation of Israel but the real people He has set apart is the universal church. These people are scattered over the world and do not refer to Israel. All those members of ekklesia will one day be united together under one flock. Israel is not God’s holy nation but the church is.

“God’s purpose in all this was to use the Church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God uses the Church to proclaim His Will and message to the world.

Let us not deceive ourselves. God sees the church not the same way as we do. Not all who those who think they are part of the church of God actually are. There’s no idol worship in God’s church. There’re no false prophets or unclean spirit amongst God’s people. Amongst God’s people God’s Word dwells richly and has authority (Col 3:16). Prophecies in whatsoever form and even coming from angels cannot override the Gospel of Jesus (Gal. 1:6). Be careful, if in your congregation there’re false teachings or false prophets you should not be in that congregation. God does not take pleasure in these. Let us see what Zechariah had to say:

“I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them“

If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.

Nowadays, many so-called Christians claim or boast to have a prophetic/apostolic gift. There has been much abuse of those gifts and these not only dishonor God but also create confusions. If parents know that his child is a false prophet, they will not only be ashamed but wish that their child ceases to live. 

Claiming to be a prophet in our era should be a shame. Jesus already prophesied what will happen till His return, do we really need prophets nowadays? I do not reject the possibility that God can use his people to prophesy but I question whether the ministry of prophet or apostle is still existent/necessary. There were only 12-13 apostles chosen by Jesus and what qualified them to be apostles is explained in Acts 1:22 i.e. they witnessed the resurrection of Jesus and saw what Jesus did.

In ancient times, false prophets mutilated themselves before making false prophesies (1 Kings 18:28).

If a false prophet turned away from making false prophesies, his past would still haunt him because people would still look at him with disdain and horror. The incisions this false prophet made on his body in his past would make him want to lie to hide the reasons of the cuts on his body. He would never dare to say he was a former false prophet nor boast about the wounds he made in his former life as a false prophet.

“ If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him. On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes. ⁵ He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’ ⁶ And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest?’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’

These warnings of Zechariah should make the Church of the living God be intransigent regarding false teachings and prophecies. The church should not give an ounce of consideration to false prophets speaking in the name of Jesus. If God abhors false prophets speaking in His name, the church should adopt the same position.

The true Church of the living God is the only one set apart to proclaim God’s message. False prophets have no part in it and should be rebuked as Paul did with Elymas the sorcerer “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you” Acts 13:10

“You have no part or share in our work, because your heart is not right in God’s sight. ²² Repent, then, of this evil plan of yours, and pray to the Lord that he will forgive you for thinking such a thing as this. ²³ For I see that you are full of bitter envy and are a prisoner of sin.” Acts 8:21

The church’s leadership should look to it that the church remains the sole representative of God’s Gospel. The church should not be part of ecumenical movements or partnering with others religions for the sake of unity. The church by definition has been “set apart” by God for some obvious reasons, why do some church leaders want to go against what God intended?

It’s not also our holiness which is concerned when we’re set apart but also our faith in God amidst trial and persecution.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.  These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” 1 Peter 1:7

Let us remember what Jesus said:

“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:19

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:14

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!  But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice” John 10:1-5

Whenever Jesus started with “Verily I say unto you” or “I tell you the truth”, it signified that He was about to say something worthy of attention. This does not mean that the conversations which did not start with those words were of lesser importance. Those discourses with “verily” or “I tell you the truth” meant something unknown being revealed.

John 10 is quite damning for the spiritual leaders Israel had. We’ll go through some of the traits of the false shepherds.

The sheepfold

The false teacher/pastor/prophet sneaks over the wall of the sheepfold.

The sheepfold was made with stones piled on each other and it had a gate. There could be several sheepfolds near each other especially if the sheep were nearby Jerusalem to be used for sacrifice or sold. That meant that there could be several gatekeepers, hired men or shepherds near each other.

1. The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd

When 2 or more sheepfolds opened their gates for the sheep to go out, the sheep were probably mixed up with those belonging to other shepherds and we could imagine that losing a sheep to another shepherd or forgetting one behind was easy. But Jesus tells us that the sheep would listen to the voice of its shepherd even if there were several shepherds around calling for their sheep to follow them.

In Luke 9:35 we read “This is My Son, My Chosen One: listen to Him“. Unfortunately, many do not want to listen to him.

There are other flocks that are not his and there is one flock which he owns.

“After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice“

2. He who sneaks over the wall is a thief and brigand

Jesus told his disciples that anyone who does not go through the gate but sneak over the wall i.e.  moves quietly and stealthily so as to avoid being seen or heard is not only behaving like a thief but indeed has the intention to steal. He goes even further, this thief does not only have the intention to steal but is a brigand i.e. will use violence to harm (armed robbery).

The unbelieving and presumptuous Jews who rejected Jesus were those sheep that heard not the voice of the shepherd.

Adam Clarke expressed it as such “the murderers and robbers are the false Christs, false prophets, scribes, Pharisees, wicked hireling priests, and ungodly ministers of all sorts, whether among primitive Jews or modern Christians.”

This is indeed what Jesus said in John 9:”Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”

Jesus said that He is the light of the world (John 8:15). In as much that this light illuminates those who stands behind Him and guide their paths, this same light blinds those who stands against Him and cause them to stumble. Listening to Jesus voice, accepting His teachings is what makes someone a sheep. One cannot claim to be a sheep of Jesus if he goes his own way instead of going where the Shepherds leads him.

3. The good and bad Shepherds

Whoever has not been commissioned by Jesus Christ into the pastoral office and has God’s sheep under his guard, is no other than a thief and a robber in the sheepfold. One must surely go through the door, Jesus, to bring them out and feed them. Taking pastoral office without Jesus consent is illegitimate. One must receive this calling and go through the proper channel to exerce this role of shepherd.

This is the rebuke God gave to the shepherd of Israel:

“The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel. Speak in My name and tell those shepherds, ‘The Lord God says, “It is bad for the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep without feeding the flock. ⁴ You have not given strength to the weak ones. You have not healed the sick. You have not helped the ones that are hurt. You have not brought back those that have gone away. And you have not looked for the lost. But you have ruled them with power and without pity. ⁵ They went everywhere because they had no shepherd. And they became food for every animal of the field. ⁶ My flock went many different ways through all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were spread over all the earth, and there was no one looking for them” Ez. 34:1-10

As for the Good Shepherd(see Ps. 23), God said:

“For the Lord God says, “I Myself will look for My sheep and find them.  As a shepherd looks for his sheep when they are not together, so I will look for My sheep. And I will save them from all the places where they were spread out on a day of clouds and darkness.  I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live.  I will feed them in a good field. The ground they eat upon will be on the mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good field and feed on good grass on the mountains of Israel.  I will feed My sheep, and give them rest,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will look for the lost, bring back those that have gone away, help those who have been hurt, and give strength to the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with punishment.”Ez. 34:10-15

The hired man counts the sheep his own as long as they are profitable to him; the good shepherd looks upon them as his, so long as he can be profitable to them. The sheep will listen to his voice and submit to his leadership as one commissioned by Jesus to lead them in green pastures.

Unfortunately, many have come into the pastoral office just like the bad shepherds of Israel. The shepherds of Israel were learned, well versed in scripture, had all the theological qualifications but were not called to shepherd. Many pastors have taken up this office because they studied theology but were not called by Jesus. It should be the other way one i.e. theological studies to be better equipped follows the call to pastoral office, not vice-versa.

Some pastors shepherd lovingly even though they were not called and still others do it out of wrong motives. This could be pride, ambitions, money, love of ease or to promote the interests of one’s family. I have met many who became pastors because their father was a pastor. There is no monarchy in pastoral ministry. Taking pastoral office allowed to lord it over the sheep by hijacking different leadership roles in the church. These kind of shepherds are opportunists, they do not really care for the sheep. In Ezechiel we also read about fattened sheep who fed themselves, the rams which hurt other sheep with their body and even drove them away with their horns. Not all breed of sheep have horns(all rams do have). If the horned animals (ram or goat) were put together with sheep which did not have horns, those sheep would be hurt. In Ezechiel, we see God angry with the horned animals (rams, goats) because they not only hurt the sheep but even left their own fields to eat in the fields of the sheep and crushed their pasture. These horned animals even made clear water that the sheep would drink, dirty. It was not only the fake shepherds which abused the sheep but also the rams which had horns and hurt the inoffensive ones.

Adam Clarke had some words for the shepherds which were not called into pastoral office:

“the desire of providing for himself and his family, are innocent, yea, laudable, in a secular business but to enter into the ministerial office through motives of this kind is highly criminal before God.”

Notice that Jesus is the door and he that enters through him into the sheepfold is indeed a genuine shepherd. The gatekeeper will open him and the sheep will listen to his voice. He who entered by any other means e.g. theological qualifications or succession is a counterfeit or fake shepherd and will lead the sheep astray, kill, abuse and destroy them.

4. He knows them by name

Just like Jesus gave Simon the new name “Cephas”, he knows his sheep by name because only the true shepherd has the authority to give a name to its sheep just like a parent gives a name to his new born. Before Jesus left, he asked Peter if he loved Him. Peter responded yes and Jesus told him thrice to shepherd his lambs and his sheep. In his epistle, Peter who was appointed shepherd of the Jewish Christians in turn recommends to others shepherd:

“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. ³ Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. ⁴ And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.” 1 Peter 5:1-4

If the father of lies calls my name, I will not follow because I know the voice of the one who gave me my name when I was born again.

A genuine pastor has therefore a lawful call to exercise authority, to feed and protect the sheep. That person would not have been a pastor if it was not triggered and quickened by the Holy Spirit. That person gives his life for the sheep as Jesus would. It’s an immense self-sacrifice with no sordid gain in mind.

But the one who sneaks over the wall i.e. has his own agenda, is double-faced or conceals his real intention is a thief and a robber. They just want to get some fat from the sheep.

The porter opens access to the sheep because he knows and trust the shepherd. There is only one who can enter legitimately through the gate, it’s the shepherd.

5. The sheep won’t listen to the voice of a stranger

The robber can steal a sheep, harm it and even kill it but never will a thief be able to force a sheep to listen. In fact, if a sheep is solicited to follow someone else than its shepherd it will fear danger.

“They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

I have told my kids not to listen to a stranger if they approached them. The stranger may know their names but they don’t have my voice and call them by name as I do. My kids will not listen or follow a stranger. If you do not want to be embarrassed in a public area, you better not ask my kids to follow you, for sure they will shout!

My kids will follow me even if I cross a dangerous path because they know me, they know that I don’t have any intention to hurt them but protect and feed them.

In as much that my kids won’t listen to the voice of a stranger, other kids won’t listen to my voice because I’m not their father.

As we’ve seen in Ezechiel, Jesus said “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them“

A sheep will listen to the voice of the one to whom it belongs, either to Jesus or the devil. The true sheep i.e. the real children of God will not listen to the voice of the devil.

6. Jesus the only door to salvation and the one who gathers His sheep

Jesus thus mentions that He is the gate, the only door to salvation.

“Those who come in through me will be saved.They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep” John 10:10-11

Jesus positions himself as the Good Shepherd in Ezechiel who will gather his flock, give his life for them and also find the lost ones.

“I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”

There are sheep which will hear the voice of the Son of God when the gospel will be preached to them (e.g. the Gentiles). They are still captured in other sheepfolds by the devil. Jesus will bring them together to form one flock with Him as the sole shepherd. He will not lord it over them but these sheep will find freedom to move around and profit the good pastures without a rope around the neck. Surely, the objective of the Good Shepherd is not to profit them but to make them fulfilled and satisfied. These are not just claims and beautiful words spoken by the Good Shepherd, He proved it by giving his life. If He gave His life, how can there be an ounce of intention to profit them? Will not He ready to defend those He gave his life for, feed them and care for them?

John 15:13: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends“

7. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming

Interestingly, one of the mark of a true shepherd is his disinterest with money in contrast with the hired hand who is just performing a duty with something in return. Whenever a better offer arise the hired hand leaves the sheep. Whenever the sheep gets sick or it becomes too difficult to manage and feed them, he just leaves them alone. Whenever he feels threatened by a wolf, he runs away to save his life leaving the sheep at the mercy of the wolf. His life is more important than the sheep but the good shepherd is ready to give his life for the sheep. Why will he abandon the sheep? Simply because he never considered them his own. Guarding the sheep provided for him to keep his life easy but when it required guarding against the wolf, it was no longer worth the risks of getting bitten or killed for a flock of sheep which belonged to someone else. For sure he will logically run away to save his life and abandon the sheep. The flock is thus attacked and scattered.

“A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. ¹³ The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”

8. Beware of sheep with horns and wolves in sheep clothing

There are many scattered sheep in churches because there has been spiritual abuse by fake shepherds. Even though, these sheep still persevere and continue to listen to the voice of the Shepherd where he leads them. Paul did say that ravening wolves will come and cause the flock to scatter. They do resemble sheep but have horns and have the same objective as the wolves – hurt the sheep.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Mat. 7:15

A wolf in sheep clothing is usually someone with false humility, an excess of zeal, a legalist or double-faced. They are not the sheep they claim to be. They appear harmless as sheep. They can demonstrate kindness with something in return. However, they have a malicious attitude and their preoccupations are to profit the sheep and not care for them.

 “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood^[h]—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.²⁹ I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. ³¹ Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.” Acts 20:29-31

“In these porticoes lay a great number of people who were sick, blind, lame, withered, [waiting for the stirring of the water;  for an angel of the Lord went down into the pool at appointed seasons and stirred up the water; the first one to go in after the water was stirred was healed of his disease.” John 5:1-2

The story narrated in John 5 is unique on its own. Not only because of the miracle Jesus performed but because it demonstrated that God was still performing miracles at this time among the Jews by sending an angel at appointed seasons. We do not know when exactly or how many times the angel came but one thing for sure is that the sick, blind, lame and withered sat under the porch awaiting for this event to happen.

The good news about that visit was that whoever came to the pool would receive his healing no matter what his sickness was.

The bad news was that this healing depended on one’s performance and abilities, for only the first person who came to the water would receive his healing.

This somehow depicts the competitive world we are living in. There’re many people suffering from all kind of sickness and problems in life. Those who are powerful and rich are usually those who will get out of their problems faster but the paralytics who could not walk were disqualified in advance to receive a healing when an angel came because of their physical disabilities. This category of people could not compete with the others who had other kinds of sicknesses.

It happens that for 38 years a man has been waiting to be healed and no one ever thought that they could just step away and carry this man to the water when the angel came. There was selfishness and it was the law of the stronger which prevailed.

If I could receive a healing, why would I choose to keep on suffering and help a stranger to be healed instead? This chance may never occur again and there’re so many competitors around. What if you were just walking past the pool and had a little flu and at the very instant the angel came ? You would be lucky to be the first in the water to obtain that healing. Would not the lame man hate you for that?

If you’re rich and have contacts you can easily find a way out of your problems by asking the leaders of the temple to restrict access to the pool only to you or your family in exchange of money. Money, intelligence and physical strength can play a big role to help someone get out of his problems. On the other hand, the majority of people do not have this chance and will remain with their burdens till they die. If you’re lucky enough, winning lotto can bring you some comforts but the winning it is still a matter of chance.

This situation broke the heart of Jesus. So when Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be healed, it was natural that the man sighed and spoke about his inability to get to the pool or have someone to bring him there.

“When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” John 5:6-7

If Jesus asked you :

“Would you like to get well?” or “You feel so exhausted, can I help you?“

How would you respond?

“I have no one to put me into the pool? or ” I have no one to help me with my kids, my studies, my job, my family or the injustice I’m facing”

The lame man was expecting a solution from an angel and his focus was a pool. Many times our focus is on that specialized lawyer or that specialized doctor who are either too busy or too expensive for us. We’re betting on those solutions without any guarantee of success.

That angel who came was a creature made by Jesus so why focus on the creature instead of the Creator? This seems so weird but in real life when we’re in trouble, we easily miss God’s voice and focus on the solutions where everyone naturally runs to. We easily follow the trend and run towards all kinds of spiritual, relational, legal, professional or monetary solutions. We then end up frustrated or crying because we see other people succeed professionally, get their healings or have loving relationships but not us. We blame them for cheating, being unfair, being malicious, insensitive or selfish because they got ahead us.

I have seen many people go through this pain and are envious of others. They are desperate because of their physical appearance, financial limitations or intellectual ability.

When Peter saw the lame man from birth, that man thought Peter would have given him money. What Peter gave him was Jesus. Jesus healed him and this was better than money. If we think that money is the solution to our problems then it can surely does as it did for this man. Money could give him food but not healing, peace with God and salvation.

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ² Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴ Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Acts 3

The lame man at the pool had a spiritual need and a physical need. These 2 needs combined together meant he needed a miracle. The truth about a miracle is that people look for them only when they have given up after trying everything. They felt abandoned and somehow accepted their feat. For 38 years this man has been waiting and he was now a spectator and no longer considered himself a candidate to receive a healing from that pool. He was probably in his 50’s or 60’s so why fight at this age?

But the Lord saw the pain and frustrations of this man even before His incarnation (while He was on His throne). Jesus can still intervene in our lives but we need to stop focusing on other solutions (even if they are not bad).

When Jesus proposed His help, perhaps at that instant this man thought that finally he found a man who would carry him to the pool. No it was better than that. It was no longer a way to increase his probability/chances to be healed at that pool. He was healed instantly.

“Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!” 

In all miracles I have seen in the bible, all were instant miracles. I have not seen any gradual healings. A miracle leaves no doubt that somehow there has been a continuous recovery brought by nature. A blind man seeing is such a miracle. For 38 years people have seen this man paralyzed and all of a sudden when Jesus came he was healed. This leaves no room for doubt. One must have entirely yielded and given up all worldly solutions to be a candidate for a miracle. God will not share His glory with anything or anyone else.

I believe in miracles, instantaneous miracles. This is what Jesus can do in your life as He did for that lame man. Whenever Jesus did a miracle publicly He wanted to ensure that proofs for authenticity was made. When the disciples carried 12 baskets of leftovers of breads, they could not doubt afterwards that something miraculous happened. When Jesus asked the healed lepers to show them to the priest, it was to have confirmation by the spiritual leaders that these people were indeed clean to enter the temple. When Jesus asked to send some wine to the steward to test the quality of the wine, it was to ensure that it was no scam. Jesus wanted to ensure that His miracles were proved genuine by reliable people who had an authority to judge. This man sat at the pool for 38 years, everyone knew him. Let the people judge by themselves, how can an old man known to be paralytic carry a bed!

Jesus not only gave physical fitness to this man but led him towards godliness. He warned him to live a godly life and stop sinning.

You may wonder “What kind of sins this lame man could do?” If Jesus came to him, he knew not only about his sickness but also all the evil thoughts and sins this man committed throughout his life. Now that this man was healed what would he do? Would he now enjoy life by living in debauchery with prostitutes and liquor in hand? If after being healed, this man became a worst sinner then it would have been better that he remained in his previous condition.

Jesus was thus right to warn: “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”

Remember that being healed or saved by Jesus is for a godly purpose and being born again is itself a miracle. Returning to our former way of life is trampling underfoot the Son of God (Heb. 10:29)

“And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. ²¹ It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. ²² They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” 2 Peter 2:20

Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath ordered this man to pack up and carry his bed on that day though it was prohibited to carry any burden on that day. A man carrying his bed on the Sabbath day will not go unnoticed(and create a tumult) and this healing and orders to carry that mat would not be without consequence for Jesus as we’ll see next.

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him” Mat. 3:3

No, I’m not talking about the Baptist denomination.

They called him the Baptist, John the Baptist. He was a simple man but yet considered by Jesus as the greatest man who ever lived. Why? Because he purposefully prepared the way for Jesus to come by calling people to repentance, boldly and without seeking any glory. If I’m ever remembered as a Baptist, may it not be because I have been affiliated to a denomination but because of imitating this man John who prepared the entry of Jesus in the lives of people.

Things to be remembered about John:

1. Born for a godly purpose

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth” Luke 1:14

Jesus’ birth was a miracle as He was conceived by the Holy Spirit without man’s intervention. John’s birth was also a miracle, he was born of pious parents who have been praying for years for a child. Now old, Zechariah had probably lose faith but God still purposefully wanted to mark the coming of John through a miracle. This remembers me of the many childless couples in the scripture whose life were very meaningful in God’s masterplan concerning the child born through them (Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, Elkanah and Hannah, Isaac and Rebekah). Samson was another example of a child whose parents (Jud. 13:2) encountered with God in a specific way and were promised a son who would not drink liquor or defended foods(like John. This is not to say that children born from sterile couples are more special but I just want to emphasize that when God has purposed a child to be born in a miraculous way, this has ultimately led for His purpose and glory. Jesus said of John, that of all men ever born, John was the most important man born from the union of a man and woman (Mat. 11:11).

2. The greatest man ever born

We’ve just read that John’s birth was a miracle but several others like him were born from barren women. However, John was the only man in the New Testament whom Jesus reserved great words of praises. John was considered the friend of the bridegroom

The role of the bridegroom’s friend(shoshabin) was “to serve the couple which would soon marry, to inspect the concerns of the bridechamber, and afterwards to reconcile differences between husband and wife, when any took place“.

Though it is probable that the shoshabins were not always found in ordinary weddings, yet they were never absent from the marriages of kings, princes, and persons of distinction” (see the notes of Adam Clarke in John 3 on this subject).

There was a great wedding which was getting prepared – this was God’s reconciliation or union with mankind.

John’s role was clear, his purpose was to prepare this union between mankind (the bride) and the groom (Jesus).

John was a herald, officially sent by God to oversee and prepare the ceremony which will take place before the groom came. His duty was to make proclamations and carry royal messages before the actual coming of the King Jesus.

3. John murdered because of his boldness of telling the truth

John must have had some boldness in calling people to repentance.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near…Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” Mat.3

In fact daring to call the Pharisees brood of vipers(Mat. 3:12) was an evidence that he feared none as long as he told the truth. John even told them that they should not hide behind their ancestry thinking they will escape judgement. They were ready to be chopped down by God Himself unless they repented of their sins.

“You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?  Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” Mat. 3:8

His boldness even cost him his life when he reproved Herod for his sexual immorality with his brother Philip’s wife. Preparing the way for Jesus to come in the lives of people, require a conviction and boldness. John’s message was clear and urgent “The kingdom of God has come near”.

4. John sought no glory, except of the one He was going to proclaim

If someone wanted to be heard and be popular, why would he preach in the wilderness? If John wanted to appear clean, tidy and spiritual why did he dress as a vagabond (coarse camel hair), ate wild honey and locust? In contrast to the Pharisees who were dressed with white robes and spent their time in the temple. John was the absolute opposite. If someone genuinely wanted to repent they would come to the wilderness to hear the message John had to say to find a way out of their sins. This demonstrates that begging people to repent is not the right approach but calling them to repentance is. Let it never happen that someone becomes a follower of Jesus to please us or just to make us stop begging. Repentance must come from a willful and sincere hear and should be a result of the conviction of the Holy Spirit, nothing else (Jn. 16:18).

It also reminds us that the gospel is free but not cheap. It is readily available and accessible to be heard in the wilderness. What if John preached in the Synagogues? If the Pharisees accepted him, the synagogue would have probably been packed and only a few elects who had some good contacts with the high priest would have had access to it. He choose the wilderness where one will go only to save his soul, not to get food or any benefits for the flesh except sun. The wilderness was a large place and could accommodate a large crowd. Though the wilderness was an unattractive place, it was indeed the best place to be if one did not want to be distracted by the pleasures of this world and focus on getting right with God.

What a man was John the Baptist! We can plead for souls to be reconciled to God but let us not never beg people. Pleading or agonizing for a soul emanates from a passion for salvation without any self gratification. God is not a beggar. John had only one objective: Get hearts ready for Jesus, prepare the way for Him! Those people who came, knew why they came. They really wanted to repent and willingly wanted to take this baptism as engagement.

John knew that the work he was doing was of utmost importance for a king and that he was just a servant ” But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals” Mat. 3:6

When John saw Jesus coming, he was so humbled of finally seeing Him. He found it so inappropriate to give a baptism of repentance to Jesus the sinless man. This is why John said “I am the one who should take this baptism of repentance”. There could not be better words than this “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world!” John 1:29

When Jesus performed miracles, some disciples of John started to follow Jesus and he did not find Jesus as a stealer of the disciples he made. On the contrary he was more than happy to now see his followers in better hands.

“It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater; I must become less.” Jn. 3:29

It was not about John’s success. It’s not about me. It’s not about us. It’s all about HIM. The self is crucified. If we’re becoming greater could it be that we’re stealing a glory that belongs to Him? Without realizing it, many ministers have forgotten why they were making disciples. It was not for their own benefits or prestige but for Christ. Why would one dare owning disciples? On the contrary, if one had disciples and really loved them, he would necessarily would want to entrust them to Jesus. It is mission accomplished only when all disciples have been transferred to Christ and no one following us.

5. Call to repentance and preparing the way was his mission

Having this kind of mission will necessarily attract haters, opposition, make us unpopular and even put our life at risk. “Who are you to call people to repentance? Are you holier than us? Why do you judge me?”

Well, the content of the message is what will likely cause such reactions. People are free to think as they want but this a noble mission with no objective to put oneself above others. John was just a messenger.

“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” Mark 1:2

Many times the messenger is shoot because of the message he carries. When there were no telephone lines, the messenger’s job in the army was just like a postman. He did not really care about the content or was required to share the opinion of the message. In fact, he probably did not know what was the message as it was sealed. The messenger’s job was just to accomplish his duty and the message he carried had no effect on his character and way of living. Let it not be so with us! Let us not be among those who just return to our ordinary life when the message is delivered. Both a postman and a witness have a message they carry but the difference between them is that the first know nothing about the content of the message and the other one is himself a message.

This is not the kind of messenger God called John or us to be. John the Baptist was a messenger who was convinced of the truth and importance of his message. The message he carried was dear to him and this transformed his life, habits, priorities, where he lived, what he wore and even what he ate and drink. This is an example how the messenger was himself transformed by the message he carried. This message Jesus brought was a powerful one, a treasure and life giving.

“…made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” 2 Cor. 4:6

6. John the messenger

John was a herald, the most important human messenger. He announced the coming of the King Jesus. After Jesus died many came to proclaim Jesus as being the savior of the world.

In Romans 10, Paul talked about the missionaries and evangelist who are sent to proclaim the message of the Gospel. Paul said :

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

This is best understood by looking at Isaiah 52:7

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Is. 52:7

How can I explain “How beautiful are the feet of the messenger”?

In 490BC, during the Battle of the Marathon, when the Greek messenger Philippides witnessed a Persian vessel change its direction and headed towards Athens even though the Greeks were about to win the battle. He thought the Persians wanted to lure the Greek people by claiming a false victory and hence taking over the Greek land with less resistance even though they have not won the battle which was still being disputed on the sea. Philippides ran from the battle site to Athen without stopping, without encumbering himself with weapons or armors which would have otherwise hinder himself to reach his destination. When he broke into the assembly of gathered people he proclaimed nenikēkamen, “we have won!”, before collapsing and dying. It was a good news that if it was not told would have left people in ignorance that victory was won. Unless this truth was told, people would have been kept overpowered by the Persians who lost the battle.

7. Are you a witness?

Philippides witnessed the danger reaching his people and this is why he made it a must to run this marathon and proclaim everyone on his way that the victory has been won and that there were no reasons to fear. When Philippides laid his feet in Athen in was a very good news. Victory has been won on the cross, but Satan is still luring man into slavery. We are such messengers to tell them the Good News.

If you were eargerly expecting an important message for weeks and finally you see the messenger coming from afar on the mountain. Would not you say “Blessed are the feet of this messenger, he finally came!”? This messenger travelled sea, land, long distances and put his life at risk to deliver this important message to you. If you’re a Christian, you have necessarily witnessed Jesus doing something in your life.

If some people mocked Philippides or refused to believe his message, would not he be right to look at them with indignation after the efforts he made?

Jesus said: “And whoever shall not receive you or hear your words, shake off the dust of your feet when you depart from that house, or that city” Mat. 10:14

In as much that the feet can be beautiful for those who consider the message to be true, it is a condemnation if the messenger shake off the dust from his feet. May it never occur that a messenger of the good news shake off his feet at our doorstep!

Like Philippides, John died when he was able to make his message known. Undelivered messages to the recipients can be a matter of life and death. Let it never occur that we die with a message still sealed in our hands. Let the good news be proclaimed, let it be heard!

Are you like the one they called “The Baptist”, whose message and life as a messenger was nothing else but to prepare the way for Jesus?

8. Mission accomplished

John had a mission of earth – prepare the way for Jesus. Jesus has also given all Christians a mission and vision. The vision is that God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim.2:4) and this is accomplished through the Great Com-mission. Some Christians go on mission to countries who never heard the Gospel, others learn new languages to make disciples of other nations. Once these new converts reach out to their own community, translate the bible or Christians books in their own language it’s for the missionary “mission accomplished”.

However, between the hard work and the end result, there’s a lot of navigation in the unknown. This requires faith and perseverance even when our eyes see nothing God doing or our ears hearing nothing. This is what happened to John the Baptist when he was in prison. He toiled hard and the beginning of his ministry was powerful. When Jesus came, he was somehow isolated in a prison and cut off from what was happening outside. The Roman were still ruling and the Messiah he proclaimed did not seem to care about the ruling of the Romans in Jerusalem.

Was the One he proclaimed, was indeed the Messiah? He started to doubt what he himself preached with so much confidence at the start of his ministry. Why? Probably because of his daily situation – imprisonment. This was blurring the reality happening outside the prison. It’s not because we do not see Jesus doing things or hear miracles from Him that He’s not actively working.

Jesus knew about it and He gave John peace, joy and a sense of accomplishment when He sent this message to John:

“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Mat. 11:4

The prophesies long foretold were being fulfilled while John was in prison. What was even more important was that the Good News was being proclaimed. In other words this what was Jesus wanted to tell John: “Good and faithful servant, your work has not been in vain. Miracles are happening, souls and being saved and God is being glorified. Thank you for preparing the way for me! “

John was now at the back of the stage and Jesus was now the talk of the town. He was after all a shoshabin, the wedding was not about him but about the bride and the groom. Jesus must “increase and I decrease“. It’s not about us, it’s all about Him. I firmly believe that John was comforted by the response he received. It was mission accomplished for him.

“Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” Luke 10:3

This verse kept me meditating for days about this Shepherd sending His lambs among wolves. I mean why would the Great Shepherd send its lambs among wolves? Would not it be a suicidal mission?

When I look at Acts 20:29, Paul with tears said: “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.  Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.“

Jesus also said: “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are savage wolves” Mat. 7:15

It seems to me that a proper understanding of who the wolves are would help appreciate the wisdom of Jesus. The wolves are spiritual leaders who are also agents of Satan mandated to mislead believers, attack the church and keep souls away from God.

Jesus faced such wolves in the person of Pharisees who often tried to trap him by asking Him questions.

His wisdom in dealing with the wolves

The Jewish leaders said:

• “We know you’re just and impartial and teach God’s ways truthfully, tell us should we pay taxes to Caesar? ” Mat. 22:15

He saw their games and answered them with wisdom to give to Caesar’s what was his and to God His due.

• They also brought a woman caught in adultery before Him to see what He would do to trap Him. “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say ?(John 8)

• When they tried to stone Him He managed to slip away (John 8)

His innocense in dealing with the wolves

• When the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Him, they saw His innocence and said “No man ever spoke like Him”
• When even the nation of Israel sent Him to be crucified under the influence of the Jewish leaders, Pontus Pilate saw nothing wrong with Him. “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!” Mat. 27

Jesus Himself led by example and preached everywhere. He brought His disciples with Him and went towards the crowds even though there were wolves among them. We need to distinguish lost sheep and wolves. He conducted Himself with wisdom and no one could accuse Him of anything wrong to challenge His innocense.

This is why He mentioned that He was sending His sheep among wolves with this recommendation to conduct themselves with wisdom and beyond reproach among the unbelievers. His time was not yet come (John 7:6) before the wolves would get Him to kill because the Father had a purpose for Him. Jesus was Himself the Lamb of God who would be slaughtered. Jesus was first on the battlefield and the general spoke the disciples obeyed because they saw what Jesus did. Why would soldiers listen to a general who has only a head full of bunch of war theories but never went of the battlefield?

“Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose” Luke 13:32

It is the same for us, God has commanded us to GO and He said Behold I AM with you always till the end and no one can snatch us from God’s hand.

The danger therefore for the sheep is when they isolate themselves from the world thinking they are protected by staying in the church. Peter (2 Pet. 2:1) and Paul (1 Cor. 11) warned that there would be false prophets who would come causing division and problems. This is a certainty, not a probability or risk. Let’s not think that we are safe in the church, it’s an illusion. This is in fact the place targeted by the enemy.

The Great Pastor first sent His 12 disciples (Mat 10) without anything in their pocket, without many clothes or weapons but only with His blessing and empowerment. He knew well what He was doing and looked at them and was with them. He said the Spirit would give them wisdom when brought on trial and all this was done to serve as testimony (as Paul did). He did again the same by sending 70 more disciples in pairs.

“The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.  Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.  Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.” Luke 10:2

We should imitate our master who gave us examples to follow.

 “Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!” Luke 13:32

As a leader/pastor we need to lead by example if we want the flock to go into the world. We need to equip them so they can go and it is essential not to have sheep who have been so fattened by sermons for years and cannot move out through the church’s doors.

I recently listened to a lecture by a senior pastor who talked about evangelism and he explained that when he was a young believer he had such a zeal to preach and share the gospel to anyone he met that the youth pastor contacted him to invite people to bible study. He brought a bus of people regularly. Then he went to bible college and met Christians who were not doing what he used to do and was perplexed, then he went to seminary which was even the worst place to have this evangelistic conduct. Then he started a church and all his time and energy went in and it was no longer possible to look outwards. He then realized there was something wrong and asked for counsels to a senior pastor who had a larger church. He asked him whether he felt guilty of not reaching out, he retorted “No, my duty is to shepherd and it’s the role of the sheep to go”.

He then concluded that the sheep were also expecting the shepherd to lead and at the end no one did something about it. The church has become inwardly focused instead of outwardly focused as Jesus did with His disciples. Something needs to be done about it and this should start with the leaders to lead by example.

In John 4, we read that Jesus was alone as the disciples were on duty to look for food. Meanwhile, He met the Samaritan woman and this led a crowd to approach Him.

“So the people came streaming from the village to see him. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.” But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

When the crowd came Jesus preferred to look at the harvest even if He was being urged to eat. How could He take time to sit down and eat when the fruits were ripe? This was the kind of food Jesus was looking for. The only thing that satisfied Jesus’ hunger was to do the will of God. After all, was not it Jesus who said : man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” ?

The spiritual food Jesus nourished Himself from came from God’s Word:

 “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest.” 

I have fruit trees in my yard and I wait for the weekend to pick up the ripe ones. While waiting for the weekend, many of the ripe fruits are spoiled or eaten by birds because I was on duty on other activities. There’s no time to waste or wait regarding evangelism. Jesus saw a harvest ready but the disciples saw a problem coming when the crowd approached. This crowd was interrupting them from having their meal. For Jesus, He preferred to delay eating if that would permit to take care of souls. May God open our eyes and ears to the needs around us!

The disciples were still spiritually dull to discern the urgency of what was in front of their eyes. Crowds came for salvation and they thought ‘We can wait some more time, let’s eat first! They also tried to drag Jesus into this direction by urging Him to eat. The disciples saw the coming crowd as a recently planted fields of grain for which there were still 4 months to wait to get a harvest from. Seeing this lack of concern or urgency, Jesus wanted to correct this attitude or reasoning. His food was to do the will of God – save souls. Only such a thing would satisfy His hunger. I have heard many times “Let’s fix up some issues in the church before going out to evangelize”. The first time I heard it, it seemed to be some words of wisdom so I cooled down and my zeal was restrained. I waited for months and years and there were still the same issues. In fact, new issues pilled up on unfixed ones.

It’s the devil who works out to create division among brothers, disagreements and problems. If we look closer, those issues exist because some people give them too much importance when in fact they are futilities diverting attention on God’s primary business.

Like Jesus, our food and business are to do the will of God. Focusing on problems inside the church is the best way to distract Christians from focusing on God’s business – which is found outside the church. The church is not a club where Christians go to eat, sing and have fun. It’s rather a place where Christians worship God for who He is and what He did for saving them. It’s a place where brothers and sisters encourage one another, where Christians are strengthened in God’s Word so they are equipped to go back to the harvest. The truth is that the more we have our eyes inside the church, the more we will find fault with our brothers or that light bulb still waiting to be changed. When you’re so busy with God’s business of saving souls, many church issues become secondary or a “much ado about nothing”.

Be careful of those who say there’s time before the harvest! Unless the Spirit intervenes to halt preaching the Good News (Acts 16:6) for particular reasons, there’s no time to delay and no reason to stop.

“the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time“

Jesus will not hesitate to leave the 99 sheep in the church to look for that lost sheep.

Jesus said that His food is to do the will of God – the will of God is that He wants all men to be saved.

There’s a kind of teaching which tends to make Christians feel guilty because they do not share the gospel or never brought someone to Christ. I do not adhere to this attitude. However, I do condemn indifference and being so church centered that the lost are forgotten. In Luke 15, Jesus gave 3 parables to explain how much heaven rejoiced when a single person repented. Jesus gave the story of the lost coin, the prodigal son and the lost sheep.

• If you had 10 coins and lost 1, you still have 90% left.
• If you had 100 sheep and lost 1, you still have 99% left

Would not it be overacting if you invite your neighbors and friends because you found a lost coin or a sheep? Would not the expenses of inviting friends and neighbors to rejoice with you cost you more than saving this lost sheep or finding this coin?

It logically does but love defies all logic. It’s at the expense of His own blood that Jesus found that lost son, lost sheep or lost coin.

If Jesus the Son of God rejoices because a single soul is saved and His friends like Moses, Abraham, Enoch, Elijah share this joy and heaven altogether, should not we rejoice ? Do you understand that if there’s something that rejoices the heart of the Son of God it’s to find the lost? Evangelism is partnering with Jesus in something that brings Him joy.

Why would heaven rejoice for a drunkard, prostitute, tax collectors or the worst sinner? Compared to the 99% or 90% they don’t have much value, right? Did they deserve so much attention or rejoicing ? Our human reasoning and logic would tell us to abandon that lost sheep and focus on the 99 which are safe and healthy. If the Great Shepherd leaves the 99, it’s a great lesson to learn for pastors of our churches to think about the lost outside the church.

This was the reasoning of the Pharisees:

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:1

He left His throne, suffered and gave His life for them and He does not want anyone to be lost but all be saved.

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” 1 John 2:2

Beyond human reasoning, there’re enough reasons for heaven to applaud, rejoice and have another feast because a single soul repented even if there has been billions of saved over the past thousands years! Jesus said ‘Rejoice with me’ but the truth is that this joy is not always shared.

For example, in the parable of the prodigal son, there are 2 main teachings but it seems to me that we tend to appreciate most the loving heart of the father awaiting his lost son and forget the part where the father rebukes his other son for his indifference (Luke 15) and not rejoicing with him.

What did the other son said? He complained that his father has demonstrated excessive joy for his lost son. Killing that fattened calf kept for special event for him? Indulgence towards that man who slept with prostitutes and wasted your heritage? You even gave him a ring and organize a feast? All of this is a waste of money and not worth it for a single soul! This love in the father’s heart bothered the other son. For this brother, all these efforts and rejoicing were unjustified.

“My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’

If God the Father and God the Son rejoice and call out all heaven to have a feast, would not it be natural for Jesus’ disciples to rejoice when the lost is found ?

We saw in the first 3 chapters how John introduced the divinity of Jesus as well as His humanity. Chapter 3 was central to the message John wanted to communicate to his readers. In my opinion, chapter 3 contains all the ingredients concerning the message of the Gospel i.e. the consequence of sin, the gift of God in the person of Jesus, man’s responsibility to accept/reject that gift, God’s salvation and judgment.

Jesus went to speak to a woman which was also a Samaritan. The Samaritans knew that were literally considered as being inferior, “dogs”, unspiritual(John 8:48) and sinners by the Jews. Instead of calling someone “idiot” at that time to insult them, calling them “Samaritan” had the same effect.

While the Samaritans and Jews have the same ancestry, this division occurred when the nation of Israel was divided into a north and southern kingdom in the time of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12). The Samarians (north Kingdom) were thus not travelling to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice and worship because for them Schichem (mount Gerizim) was where God used to speak to the Israelites in ancient times (Deut. 11:29). They married Assyrians and were despised by the Jews. Just like the Pharisees and the Saducees disagreed about the resurrections, it was the debate at that time where was the place of worship since on Mount Gerizim there were also temples.

Imagine that you were considered the greatest sinners on earth and rejected because of your origins and beliefs.

Jesus came to remove such barriers and bridge gaps which restricted access to God because of religions or ethnicity. When the Canaanite woman came to Jesus, there was still this concept among the Jews that Gentiles were inferior, like dogs.

“It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” Mat 15:27

Back to our text, we can now keep in mind that when Jesus initiated a conversation with that Samaritan woman it was particularly unusual. The more spiritual a Jew thought he was at that time(e.g. the Pharisees), the more hatred there was in his heart against Samaritans. Jesus was God and He did not have this attitude.

Jesus was conversing with someone who everyone considered the scum of the society (e.g. prostitute).

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

The reply that Jesus made was short but very meaningful.

The first thing He did was to mention God because this appointment near Jacob’s well was purposefully orchestrated by God.

The Jews and the Samaritans had no conversation or relationships but here we see Jesus taking the initiative to speak to her about this great Being.

Jesus had this wisdom of words to mix up physical reality with spirituality. For instance He said ” I will make you fishers of man to fisherman”, He said He was the “bread of life”, in contrast to manna to those He gave bread.

“The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry” John 6:33

He said to Peter (Cephas) that on this rock(the meaning of Cephas) He will build His church

Now Jesus said He would give living water to a Samaritan though He was Himself physically thirsty. Thirst was the opportunity to have this conversation. Jesus often looked for opportunities to talk about spiritual matters. This is also what Paul has been doing when he saw an altar which an inscription of an unknown God and wanted to talk about this God unknown to the Athenians (Acts 17).

May God use our thirst, ears, eyes to talk about spiritual matters!

 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

The conversation now takes the direction it should because this would allow Jesus to clear out errors and provide spiritual insights of God’s real will.

The water drawn from this well was apparently reputed not only for its freshness but also because of its long proven history of being a source of life for people and cattle.

For that woman, it was strange that this thirsty man who came barehand, without a bucket and rope, could provide water from another source than Jacob’s well which was deeply foraged and dug to get access to water.

If a reputed and rich man like Jacob found that this well was good enough for his family who did this man thought He was?

Jesus’ reply was beautiful and full of wisdom:

“Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

It was a fact that Jacob, his sons and cattles drank this water. No matter how fresh this water was, those who drank it became thirsty again and had to draw water from it over and over again.

Jesus then proposed to give the woman some water that would leave no one thirsty after drinking it. Meaning that when one will know the true God, that person will stop seeking again for spiritual needs outside that God. The spiritual thirst of that person will not only be quenched but this person himself will be overflowed with spiritual goodness. Jesus offers to resolve our spiritual hunger and thirst, He never promised that we will never be hunger for food or thirsty of water. Jesus did not promise peace on earth, His promises were all for our souls and spirit which will last forever. Never again will a soul search for spiritual insights outside Christ after encountering Him.

So it happens that He who was proposing such a living water was Himself physically thirsty.

Was this man credible? If He drank this living water He was talking about why was He asking me to draw water for Him?

The woman thus said: ““Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

She was probably tired to come here over and over again and said that maybe this Jew could fix that water problem definitely.

She was eagerly expecting an answer and Jesus told her something she was less expecting. Jesus pointed her to her sins. So the focus of this conversation changed and spiritual problems became the priority over the daily life’s problem:

“Go and get your husband” 

For Jesus to give her living water, she had to fix up some issues in her life.

Now was the crucial moment for that woman to decide whether she will be angry to talk about her sins or face the problem. This is how it happens when we encounter with God.

This is the part in John 3 where Jesus talked about those who refuse to come to the light for fear that their evils deeds be exposed and refuse to continue this conversation about sin. Some others accept to talk about it with Jesus and continue this conversation.

If Jesus wanted to talk about your sins today would you have this conversation with Him or turn your back because you would feel embarrassed?

The woman decided to reply but now she was shorter in her answers, giving the fewer information she could about the different relationships she had with man

“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied to cut short.

Jesus then continued to deal with this particular problem this woman had, as a doctor would to remove a cancer. It will hurt to hear that Jesus knew all about your intimate life. God would not be shocked even if we told it all to Him. Jesus knew it all already when she met that woman.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—  for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

At this point would you continue this conversation or tell Jesus “mind your own business”?

The woman now realized that Jesus received some sort of revelation from God and was a kind of prophet. Now she talks about a spiritual barrier which was keeping her to come closer to God – the place of worship

Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet.  So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

Some muslims refuse to believe in Jesus because they have a preconceived idea that the bible has been twisted and falsified. They also have a misconception of what Jesus meant when He said He was the Son of God. The first thing to do is to remove those barriers and bring the truth to light.

Jesus thus cut the debate short and indicates that neither the Jew nor the Samaritans were right in their arguments. These 2 nations were debating about futilities. The physical place where one worshipped was nothing compared to worshipping God in Spirit and in truth. Worshiping God in ignorance or with an incorrect understanding of God’s nature was also not a worship that would attain Him even if done on the mountain the ancestors used to go for worship.

Worshiping God in the flesh i.e. with a sinful heart accompanied by religious rituals was not receivable even if it was done at Jerusalem. Thus being a Jew, worshipping in Jerusalem, reading the Torah, praying 7 times a day, respecting the Sabbath or following Jewish customs and traditions were not enough to become a worshiper of the living God. One necessarily had to be born of the Spirit to worship God in Spirit for God is Spirit. True worshipers are those who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God. One necessarily needs to worship God in truth for there is only One true God and He’s certainly not the one we have conceived falsely in our mind. Worshipping such a God requires divine revelation about His nature through the Spirit coupled with guidance from the written revelation found in the scripture.

 “Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

When these barriers of understanding God have been cleared now was the time to go through the Mediator between God and man, Jesus.

So the woman asked, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

This is the same reasoning we see in John 7:27:

“But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”

This answer is what I call the “blindness tragedy”.

Even if Jesus was talking to her, the Samaritan woman was looking for the Messiah, the one called Christ. She was expecting the Messiah to explain everything. The irony is that she was face to face with this Messiah who just explained her that worshiping on Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem was not important.

In John 5 we see that people listened to other voices and welcome them but would fail to accept Jesus

“Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them.”

These people knew very well through scripture of the coming of the Messiah. When this very thing happened in front of their eyes they simply could not see it happening. From their own mouth these people revealed their spiritual blindness.

Jesus said something like this in John 5:39 “the scripture points to me, so if after reading it you oppose me, do not see me or do not do my will, then there’s an issue with your understanding of scripture. Are you using the scripture for your own interest? For you search the scripture to find the Messiah but you cannot see me. Don’t say that you oppose me through zeal for God’s honour and love for his name, because I make myself equal to him. No, this is not the case. I know the dispositions of your souls and I know you have no love for his name“

The Jews read the scripture diligently and they failed to find the Messiah. Not only they failed to recognise Him but they were so convinced that they thought they rendered a service to God by killing a blasphemous man who called Himself God!

The Jews gladly listened to teachers who taught them great philosophies eloquently but rejected Jesus.

The whole scripture has been written to eventually point to Jesus.

So if after reading the Word of God, we stick to doctrines that lead us not do the will of Jesus then there’s an issue with our understanding and self interest.

If we prefer to listen to great theologians and fail to put into practice simple commands given by Jesus(e.g. Love people), then all our theology and knowledge resemble those who crucified the Messiah.

Blessed are the poor in spirit who discerned the coming of the Messiah!

Jesus told her plainly : “I am the Messiah!”

This woman echoed her story (what we call testimony) and this led to other people to test by themselves whether what this woman said was the truth.

“Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

The Gospel of John focuses specifically on the person of Jesus. While the synoptic gospels did talk about Jesus, His life, the miracles He did and His teachings, none of them addressed the divinity of Jesus so intentionally as John did.

From John 1 we understand this:

When – In the beginning

Identification – The Word

Date of creation – Not any. It already existed

Origin – He was with God

Nature – He was God

Prologue – He was in the beginning with God

Accomplishments – He created everything there is

Unfinished works – Not any, for nothing exists that He didn’t make

Life and purpose – Life itself was in him. This life gives light to everyone

Short summary – The Word became human and lived here on earth among us.

Human names – Jesus, Emmanuel, Son of David

Spiritual names – The Word, The Truth, The Life, Alpha & Omega, I AM, Yahweh

Luke made a careful investigation of what happened before Jesus’ birth till His death and wanted to present a detailed account based on facts and witnesses to Theophilus.

Matthew started with the genealogy of Jesus to prove He was descendant of David and was “God with us”. Mark started with the prophesy made by Isaiah regarding the coming of the Messiah and talked about the miracles and teachings of Jesus.

John wrote for this reason: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name”  (John 20:31). Can someone after carefully reading the gospel of John be not convinced that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

John is not interested to talk about an orderly account of Jesus’s life, his objective is well set: Present Jesus as God and urge all men to believe in Him.

The 7 miracles present in John’s gospel are all very particular and were all done publicly. John did not mention the healing of the lepers, healing of the centurion’s servant or the healing the mother of Peter’s wife which were personal miracles. John focused on miracles that any reader at that time could verify. John’s objective was not to expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees as other gospel authors did. John really wanted to talk about the Living Water, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world, the Bread of Life, The Vine and the branches, the resurrection and the life, he Good Shepherd and the prayer Jesus did for mankind (John 17)

John mentioned:

1. The turning of water into wine at a marriage feast in Cana (omnipotent). Similar to the multiplication of bread, Jesus did abundantly out of nothing. Mary saw Jesus grow and during 30 years she saw miracles Jesus could do and knew His abilities.

2. The healing of a man at the sheep-gate pool whereby many sick people came and waited for an angel to move the water. Jesus changed the focus of that man and demonstrated that He was greater than an angel

3. The walking on water and calming of winds. While this story could be confirmed only by the disciples, I believe that no one would invent such a story if it did not really happen. Is there any man who could speak to nature (the winds) and defy the laws nature was subjected to? The winds obeyed Him and the water were under His feet instead of submerging Him.

4. The healing of a nobleman’s son who was at the point of death without being physically present

5. The feeding of five thousand meant thousands of witnesses being fed without any bakeries or fish around

6. The healing of the man born blind. This is one of the most beautiful miracle that served as testimony before the religious leaders. I was blind but I now I see!

7. The raising of Lazarus is mentioned only in the Gospel of John and demonstrated that indeed Jesus had power over death.

The language employed by John focused on the necessity in believing in Jesus to be saved:

John 8: I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.

John 3:17: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

There’s thus an absolute necessity to be born again whether one is a religious leader, do good works or is a good person.

We are all already condemned without turning to the Son for salvation:

The reason man will be condemned by God is not because of sin but because they refused to believe in Jesus. They refuse to believe in Jesus because they fear that their sins will be exposed. Those who believe in Jesus recognize they are sinners and want to turn away from their sins to get closer to God even if that means that their sins will be exposed. Even if one is able to get rid of its “small” or “big” sins, that will serve no purpose. Sin is not the issue here, it’s belief.

The verdict of guilty or not will be based on this: Did you believe in Jesus ?

John 3:19: “Whoever believes in him[Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

Believing in Jesus is entrusting Him alone for salvation apart from any good works or deeds.

GOD — The Greatest Lover
SO LOVED — The Greatest Degree
THE WORLD — The Greatest Company
THAT HE GAVE — The Greatest Act
HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON — The Greatest Gift
THAT WHOSOEVER — The Greatest Opportunity
BELIEVETH — The Greatest Simplicity
IN HIM — The Greatest Attraction
SHOULD NOT PERISH — The Greatest Promise
BUT — The Greatest Difference
HAVE — The Greatest Certainty
EVERLASTING LIFE. — The Greatest Possession

J. Edwin Hartill

The book of Nehemiah has a lot of leadership lessons to teach to church leaders.

Context

In the 5th century BC, the Jews were deported to Babylone (Irak). He served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in the Persian capital (some 1200 km away from Jerusalem). Judah was assieged and he was one of the few Jews (less than 50000) who was later released from captivity by the Persian King and allowed to return to Judah.

During the month of Kislev (November-December) while he was in the Persian Capital, he received the visit of some fellow Jews who came from Judah. He was concerned about his people and inquired on how it was going with the few Jewish remnant who were still in Jerusalem and Judah(not deported). For 4 months he mourned and fasted during the month Nisan i.e. till the month of April-May.

So about 444 BC, Nehemiah journeyed to Jerusalem and aroused the people there to the necessity of repopulating the city and rebuilding its walls. Nehemiah encountered hostility from the (non-Jewish) local officials in neighboring districts, but in the space of 52 days the Jews under his direction succeeded in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls.

In 538 BCE, the Jews in Babylon were allowed to return to Judah following Cyrus’s decree after about 50 years after the deportation initiated by king Nebuchadrezzar. About 50,000 Jews returned to the Land of Judah following the decree of Cyrus but the majority of Jews stayed in Babylon.

Nehemiah reinstituted Jewish customs, laws and reforms.

The debut of Nehemiah

In view of the huge work that was before him, he probably sought God through earnest prayer for directions and confirmation on what he could do about this situation:

“Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire” Nehemiah 1:3

Similar to Nehemiah, if things are not going well for God’s people and the state of the church, how can we remain insensible?

So for 4 months, he mourned not because he was asked to do it but because he was deeply affected by this situation. Since Nehemiah was able to make spontaneous and precise requests to the king when he was offered help, I believe that during this time he worked on that project of rebuilding Jerusalem. He carefully thought about the materials he would need, the authorizations he would need from the Persian’s government, the speech he would make to his people to motivate them and achieve this prodigious work of rebuilding Jerusalem and its walls in 52 days. If he Nehemiah was granted what he asked for by a non Jew, how much more shall we Christians be granted what we ask for to Jesus for the advancement of His Kingdom?

Adam Clarke said this about Nehemiah:

“Every good work is not to be undertaken hastily; prayer and watchfulness are necessary to its completion. Many good works have been ruined by making haste.”

The king trusted Nehemiah because he guaranteed that no poison was in his cup. He had thus access to the king’s court often and he prayed that the king would be favorable to his request to rebuild Jerusalem.

A city without a wall gives access to wild animals and renders the place an unsecured one. The prestigious temple and walls of Jerusalem were destroyed which made it a desolate place.

Nehemiah started to confess his own sins and those of his own people who turned away from God. He was well aware that this deportation was due to their sins (Nehemiah 1:8-9). Nehemiah mentioned clearly his sins and those of his nation.

“Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!  We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses” Neh. 1:7

Do you pray for your local church or the church in general that it may fulfil its purpose on earth? If we as a church has departed from God’s will, there’re reasons to mourn like Nehemiah. Very often our churches are self-centered on itself instead of seeking the lost. It is of utmost urgency that the churches refocus themselves on God’s will i.e. He wants all men to be saved.

In Chapter 2, the king and the queen saw the sadness of Nehemiah and inquired and it’s then he dared to ask the king a favor to allow him to return to Jerusalem.

“Then I was terrified, ³ but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”With a prayer to the God of heaven, ⁵ I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

I can hardly explain what happened but the king responded positively to Nehemiah’s request. It was with a prayer to the God of heaven, a spontaneous faith, that he made clearly his request to the king. The king gave him the necessary authorization to governors and letters to travel to Jerusalem and purchase the necessary materials for rebuilding his city. The gracious hand of God was with him and he was given more than he asked by the king- an escort.

Instantly, when someone who wanted the good of God’s people came to Jerusalem, this started to stir up some concerns (Nehemiah 2:10)). Tobiah who had nothing to do with Jewish traditions, no ancestry was found for him and yet he was granted by the high priest Elishashib(Neh 3:1, 13:8) the store room for personal use when this should have been reserved for articles reserved for God’s Temple (grain offerings, frankincense).

The opponent’s profile

Sanballat (a Horonite), Tobiah (an Ammonite) and Geshem(an Arab) were regional governors under the reign of the Persian King.

Tobiah was related to the high priest’s family by the marriage of his daughter with one of the grandsons of Eliashib (13:9) the high priest. Tobiah had thus not only political influence but also spiritual one. This mixed relationship between Jewish customs and foreigners eventually caused the store room to be defiled. One of the reason the bible discouraged or has even forbidden marriage with foreigners was because of such reasons. This caused an erosion in biblical principles and opened doors to compromise.

Nehemiah clearly indicated that Tobiah and the opposing men who accompanied him had no part to the rebuilding of the temple.

“For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him because his father-in-law was Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan was married to the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. ¹⁹ They kept telling me about Tobiah’s good deeds, and then they told him everything I said. And Tobiah kept sending threatening letters to intimidate me.” Neh. 6:19

We should be careful of those people who are among us and who propose to help us to rebuild even if good things are said about them. Meshullam was a “false Jew” who later opposed Ezra(Ezra 10:15). Paul had to face such false brothers who were there to spy and stir up trouble.

“This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. ⁵ We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.” Gal. 2:4

This is what Jesus said in Mat. 7:15: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves“

John also mentioned that these people were within the church:

“These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.” 1 John 2:19

In fact Paul warned in Acts 20:29: “ I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following“

These trio of opponents fabricated stories that Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls to rebel against the king and also called upon a false prophet to lead Nehemiah to sin and discredit him.

“I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me.

¹⁴ Remember, O my God, all the evil things that Tobiah and Sanballat have done. And remember Noadiah the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to intimidate me.” Neh. 6:14

I came across this verse in Matthew 17:21 and Mark 9:29 where Jesus emphasized coupling fasting and prayer

“However, this kind [of demon ]does not go out except by prayer and fasting“.

I don’t know about you but I’ve not been fasting many times in my life. Probably because I felt no sense of urgency, deep concern about an issue or understood its power. If we think about the demon possessed man who was particularly dangerous to himself and others, this may have caused the disciples to have goosebumps and doubt that they could cast out that demon.

Jesus’ diagnostic to their failure was clear-cut: They lacked faith.

Casting out a demon necessarily implied calling out in prayer to God to deliver that person. They casted out demons in Jesus’ name in the past but this time it just did not work. Some bible translation omit the word fasting but in my humble opinion, Jesus really meant this powerful combination of prayer and fasting because the disciples already prayed and but had little faith or some doubts cropped in. I do not know how much concerned or determined the disciples were to cast out that demon but one thing we can be sure about is that if they had enough faith, this man would have been delivered.

In my opinion, to remediate to their feebleness of faith, Jesus called them to fasting. Fasting implies a personal concern and grief about a particular difficult situation. When we decide to fast, it’s a very serious step of faith because we mourn about a situation and really want something to change or happen. There is no “light prayer”, it’s a determined action which involves not only words of prayers but also our physical body to be involved. Why would you deprive your body of food if you were not really concerned about a situation?

This is what happened to Nehemiah when he heard that the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, his people scattered and the gates burnt.

“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” Neh. 1:4

Nehemiah called his people to fast and pray for 52 days to rebuild the walls. At the time of Nehemiah, a city without a wall was like a house without doors where thieves or any wild animals could get in to destroy and kill. Who would want to live in such a desolate place?

Think about how you would be praying if it was your child who was suffering, you would probably not be required to fast as this situation would have already caused you to lose appetite. Now if it was the son of a stranger, would you naturally mourn and have the same consideration? Fasting is therefore not something done lightly but because there’s a personal concern about a situation.

We read in the scripture that Jesus always had compassion, concerned and love for everyone. The disciples necessarily needed to couple fasting with prayer to be in the right disposition of faith before asking God to do a miracle, for without faith we should not expect anything from God (James 1:6-8). When you fast, your body constantly reminds why you’re not eating and brings your spirit back in prayer. Fasting is an evidence of having faith for who will be depriving his/her body of food if he/she has no conviction or expectation that God can change a situation? Fasting without mourning or concerns about a situation is not different from being on diet. I have met some ladies who wanted to lose some weight and were happily saying they were doing Daniel’s fast. Let’s not mix up a spiritual battle with a physical desire.

Fasting is calling to God in despair. I’m very concerned about the feebleness of churches in my country and this has led me to mourn for days and also led me to fast because what I saw deeply saddened me. The Gospel is not being preached as it should because Christians are more comfortable to stay within the 4 walls of the church and have fellowship despite Christ’s command to GO!

This is what the Nineveh said to his people when he heard the call to repentance from Jonah:

“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” Jonah 3:8

There was a deep concern about their sins which made them mourn. Sins must made us mourn and sad. From the oldest to the youngest, everyone recognized their sins and repented. They made use of ashes as was used by the Levites for the ceremonially uncleaned for purification.

If I were among the disciples and I heard the story of this demon possessed man, my faith would have immediately shattered and I would have had doubts. If I were not told about the stories of what this demon possessed man did my faith would have probably remained stronger. It’s the same in life, if we allow stories told about a particular situation to shatter our faith, our faith will indeed weaken.

We often read in the scripture about a measure of faith (Rom. 12:3). Jesus Himself used “faith like a mustard seed” to illustrate a measure of faith and the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith (Luke 17:5-10). There exists such a thing as small and greater faith like Abraham had. If you lack faith as the disciples did in a particular situation which you’re concerned about, consider adding fasting to your prayers.

Isaiah 58 talks about real fasting. The people of Israel said:

‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’

 God said to His people: “Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me.They act like a righteous nation” Is. 58:2

Then the Lord told them reasons what they were doing wrong and how to remediate. God told them:

1. Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors(malicious talks)!
2. Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you.
3. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.
4. Give clothes to those who need them and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

The results would be:

1. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon
2. “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
3. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.
4. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls (see Nehemiah),Restorer of Streets with Dwellings(rebuilder of homes).

And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. John 12:32

This is such a powerful and mind-blowing statement that it stuck in my mind for several days.

In this context of John 12, Jesus was talking about this moment of glory which was fast approaching. He mentioned the necessity for a seed to die/desintegrate for it to produce new crops. If that seed remained whole, it would remain alone. Jesus’ vision was a huge harvest/posterity that will occur as a result of His death (Rom. 5:19, Is. 53:10)

“Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.  I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. ²⁶ Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. “

“Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.” Rom. 5:19

“But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.” Is. 53:10

This said, Jesus explained that those who love their life in this world will lose it but those who do not care of the comfort of this life i.e. die to self will have it for eternity. However, He puts a condition stating that if anyone wants to serve him, that person must follow Him. Being willing to serve Jesus is one thing and many do so in their own ways. However, many intently try to serve Him but do not follow Him. Many call Him Lord but few do what He says (Luke 6:45). When I go to a restaurant, I am served by the waiter but will that waiter commit himself to follow me where I go?

“Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. ³⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34

Mark 8:37 is a remarkable verse which distinguishes who really a Christian is irrespective of denomination. Are you a follower of Jesus or just doing a lot of things for Him without following Him?

Then we see a promise of Jesus, He will work to attract all men unto Him for He wants all men to be saved (1 Tim. 2:3, John 3, 1 John 2:2). But we know that not all men want to be saved for they prefer their evil deeds.

We were all once in darkness like stranded sheep following our own ways. We were naturally inclined to sin due to the weaknesses of our flesh and not actively seeking God (Is 53:6, Rom.310)

“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

Unless the gospel of light shone in our heart (2 Cor. 4:4) we would still be darkness.

How then can men find the true living God, unless the gospel is preached to them ( Romans 10:14)? Nature itself testifies the glory of God (Rom. 1:20) but man is still lost and is hardly finding its way to God.

Thanks be to Jesus who made this promise that when He would be exalted up to heaven, He will purposefully work to attract all men to Him. The symbolic image of the elevated bronze snake used by Jesus illustrates perfectly how He intended to draw all men unto Him(not just a few elects).

“Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!”  So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!” Num. 21:8

The illustration Jesus in John 3:14 can be subject to different interpretation. For example, the snake deceived Adam in Eden and all its posterity became spiritually dead. The Second Adam came and crushed the head of the snake (Gen. 3:15) when He died on the cross. All those who looked at the cross would be healed from the serpent’s venom – sin.

^” And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” John 12:32

The Greek word helkysō translated as “draw” literally means to try to pull, persuade or drag.

How many and who would have been saved unless Jesus drew all men unto Him? Why then are not all men saved if God wants all men to be saved and Jesus attract all men to Him? Simply because men refuse to believe (John 3:19) because their deeds are evil.

The Great Commission was given for that purpose i.e. spread the Good News. God is not responsible if man reject the Son, nor was Moses responsible if some men refused to look at the bronze serpent to be healed.

We read in the book of revelation where God says: “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Rev. 3:20

God is actively working to convict hearts but usually does so through human vessels – His followers.

I once heard an evangelist use Mat. 24:14 and say that the day all creatures will hear the gospel, that day will initiate the return of Jesus. Not sure to what extent he was right. He pleaded to preach the gospel as much as we could to hasten the return of Jesus.

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” Mat. 16:26

We can be in the church for years, preaching, singing, performing miracles and involved in church leadership and yet not following Jesus. Any eloquent person can stand up and teach the bible. Many people believe in Jesus, even the devil does and trembles (Ja. 2:19). The question therefore lies on whether we are actually following Jesus’ footsteps in obedience. Jesus warned the following in Matthew 7

“On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” Mat. 7:23

If miracles were performed, demons were cast out and prophesies were fulfilled not by luck but all these were done intently under the authority of Jesus and yet Jesus dissociates Himself from these spiritual manifestations and those who performed them, it is worth stopping all that we are doing and question whether we are doing the right thing. If all these were done without God, who did it?

We can be intently worshipping God but if our heart is far from Him, these will serve no purpose except entertaining our own self.

In fact Jesus said:

“These people honor 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” Mat. 15:8

We may be doing things right like healing the sick, helping the needy, preaching the word of God and doing great things for God but without God’s participation. What deception that will be ! Are we doing the right thing or doing things right? Many churches around the world have fallen into this disillusion thinking they are serving God but they are actually serving their own image and ideology.

What did Jesus say on following Him?

Jesus said: ““If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. ” Mat. 16:24

3 points:

• Unless we give up our own way of doing things and do it Jesus’ way we will not be able to follow Jesus.
• If we take up our cross and denial ourselves like hermits but are not following Jesus, then we have chosen the path of asceticism
• If we want to follow Jesus without taking up our cross(deny ourself), we will remain stagnant and spiritually immature.

Denying ourself does not mean accepting all kinds of oppression that come our way, it rather means giving up those things Jesus asks us to do. It means submission to Jesus and the scripture, not to what a church or a spiritual leader asks us to do.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Cor. 13

People every day use the word “Love” in phrases such as : I love chocolates, my job, my spouse, my friend or God. The same word is used for things, activities and persons. There’s a big difference between liking something and loving someone. If we consider the definition of love, we cannot love something, we can only love a person.

The way we love people itself is manifold. The ancient greek words categorized love according to the nature of the relationship.

The affectionate love for a friend is Phileo, Agape is a selfless and unconditional love(the kind God has), Eros is the romantic and passionate love one has for a spouse, Storge is the kind of love that exists for family members (e.g parents and children or sibblings).

We can easily distinguish that the Eros love is different in nature to the Phileo and Storge love. While it is true that God calls us friends and His children, this is not Phileo or Storge love but a result of a greater love – Agape.

Before getting into what is love, it would be interesting to discard erroneous definitions or understandings.

Love is NOT a feeling. We can feel warm or cold depending on temperature. We can feel moody, nervous, sad, angry or happy depending on circumstances. These are chemical reactions in our body which make us feel this way.

I still love my kids even if I had a hard day at work and feel tired. I do not stop loving them because I feel annoyed when they write on the walls and throw their toys everywhere.

This gives us a clue that love is a kind of commitment in a relationship.

What is love?

My studies on this subject has led me to define love as giving. Let me explain. You give your time, energy, devotions and can even give your life to people who are dear to you. You’re most likely to spend more time with people you love. Love is not conditional i.e. it does not say “I will love you if“. Think about it, I have a few close friends that I will still love and remain loyal no matter what happens to them.

My kids cannot repay me what I do for them. It would be unfair for me to love them based on the condition that they get good grades and behave well. No matter how they perform I’m committed as a father to love them even if there is no one or no law which can force me to do so. This kind of love is innate, it is a decision. The moment that we’re being forced to love, we’re faking. Love is genuine in nature i.e. it has no trace of hypocrisy. This is how God created man – He gave man the freewill to choose to love him. If man did not have that choice and was forced or influenced by someone or a spiritual force to love Him, then this would not be love but trickery or manipulation.

I will leave for now the Philos, Storge and Eros love and would like to discuss about the superior love – Agape.

Agape love is a divine love i.e. it is the kind of love God has for people and expects us to have. We realize we lack love when we face the hard-to-love people. Only a superior love can stubbornly accept these hard-to-love persons.

We read in John 3:16, that God so loved the world that He gave Jesus as a Savior.

God considers Himself as a Father to mankind and His love does not cease when we sin or displease Him. However, in as much as God’s love is unwavering so is it regarding His justice and righteousness. God is intransigent to sin for sin is unrighteousness. So how do we reconcile the loving character of God and His righteousness? Putting it another way, how can a holy God have fellowship with sinful people? The only way for this relationship to occur is to resolve the injustice. It is unrighteousness that acts as a barrier between the loving God and sinful man. God is merciful when He gives us not what we deserve – punishment. God demonstrates grace when He gives us what we do not deserve – forgiveness and blessings.

For-GIVE is rooted in the word give. When you forgive, you’re actually giving someone the opportunity to be restored in a relationship. That offender can plead for forgiveness but it is only the offended party which can grant it.

Genuine forgiveness is when you do what is required to restore fully a relationship. Many people say that they have forgiven their offenders but still say in their hearts “I have forgiven him/her but I do not wish to have anything to do with him/her anymore“. If there is still bitterness it is an incomplete act of forgiveness. God did all what should be done so that sinful man could get into intimate relationship with Him. He offered Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for the remission of sin. Trusting Jesus is the act of faith that brings justification and restores fully the relationship with God.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Rom. 5:6-9

So we can see a clear distinction between liking something and loving someone. Chemical reactions(feelings) in a body will not lead you to forgive and restore fully a relationship, love will. Only love will do the extra mile and intently work at resolving conflicts. We’ll have a closer look of how the bible describes love in Part 2.

“For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” Ps. 33:9

This phrase perfectly illustrates the one the bible calls the Word. The word spoken from our mouth has for instance the power to encourage, hurt and instruct. Similarly, God’s Word is the means God uses to create, execute and command. Through the Word, what we see and cannot see(the spiritual world) came to be. The Word is the Creator. This Creator is a person – God. That person became a human (John 1:14) and was called Jesus.

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone….So the Word became human and made his home among us” John 1:1-14

A Roman officer who understood well the power of words (commanding, giving orders) said to Jesus “Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed” Mat. 8:8

In Hebrews 1 we can read that not only the earth but the whole universe was made by the Word. God spoke and said “Let there be light” and it came to be. God spoke and the sea and land appeared. God said “Let the land sprout with vegetation” and it happened. God spoke and stars, the moon and the universe were formed. God spoke and the sea and land animals existed. God spoke and created the human being (Adam) after his own resemblance and it came to be.

We read in the book of Lamentations 3:37-19:

“Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission? Does not the Most High send both calamity and good? Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?“

This is an interesting verse when we consider the state of this present shipwrecked world. This lead us to understand why we are in such a mess.

When God initially commanded the earth to produce its fruits and the sea to respect its limit (the shore), there was a perfect order in the world. Nothing happened without God’s permission when He was in entire control. This is not to say that God lost control when Adam sinned, it rather means that God ceased to have a close fellowship with man due to His holiness. The absence of God’s bright presence eventually led darkness to took over. When God stopped to dwell among man, the one who works outside the presence(in darkness) of God, the devil, took control of the world at all levels. The devil had dominion and was hence called the prince of this world.

Man differed from animals since he was gifted with a spirit – a fundamental characteristic that animals and plant do not have. Man was created in God’s image i.e. man is a trinity as God with a soul, a body and a spirit and could fellowship with God – another privilege animals and plants did not have. Man was not created as a robot but was gifted with the freewill to decide whether he would choose to respect God’s established orders. The freewill of man and will of God therefore perfectly co-existed. Man ruled the whole world and had dominance on everything. What would man ask that God would not grant him? God also gave man something he did not know he needed – a woman to help him. It was literally paradise on earth for Adam. God was pleased with all He created and was even more satisfied when He created a human being – Adam. Adam was a gardener before Eve came into existence and was warned by God:

“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Gen. 2:16

Angels worship God and it was similarly necessary for man to demonstrate respect to God through thanksgiving, respect and obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice, it is in fact a form of worship when we choose to obey God instead of doing what we want. Adam did well and knew only doing what was right. It was not because there was a famine in paradise that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Eve ate it because she was not satisfied with what she already had and wanted to cross the line and experience something which was forbidden. It is not wrong to desire increase our knowledge but I have witnessed that at times it is better to remain within the boundaries and refuse to know more. It is true that unless we test something we cannot know whether something is really bad or good. However, if there is something that we should not afford to test, it is God’s command. Listening another word than God’s Word will surely lead to evil. If we believe that disobeying God’s command is without consequence, then we’re living in illusion. The upside down world we’re living in is a perfect witness of disorder and chaos.

God wanted humans to know only good and never touch or taste evil. This is a sad truth of human nature, they always strive to have what they do not have (Maslow’s theory). A millions of fruit they had but only one God forbidden them. If God has placed them in a situation where they could eat only 1 fruit and never eat a million then we could surely understand the dilemma.

Why did God place the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden such that it could easily be noticed and reachable by man?

Why did not God restrict access to this tree and disallowed the evil one to tempt them?

I believe that it all pertains to freewill. When man intentionally refuses to satisfy what he craves for and accept to trust and have faith in what God said instead of having his own way, is not it submission to God? If God controls our will to obey him, worship him and have faith in him, how then could there be ever a genuine love and relationship?

God allowed the devil to move around knowing that he could tempt man. This was not a mistake of God but rather a demonstration of His wisdom. Why should I shut myself in my house to minimize the chance of committing adultery when I could move freely around by simply not transgressing God’s commands? God has created man free and always wanted them to freely choose to do what they want:

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach…“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster…Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 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.” Det. 30:13-19

Remember that Adam and Eve were sinless when they were being tempted. They did not have a sinful corrupt nature which was leading them to crave to do what was wrong. Wanting to know evil, questioning or testing what God declared evil is a gross sin. For instance, man has become tolerant on homosexuality in the name of being open-minded. Sin is not subjective or relatively wrong. God is absolute and there is no grey areas in His decrees.

When man sinned, God cursed the earth and God ceased to dwell in the sinful presence of man. The absence of God caused disorder. God is light and the absence of light leads to darkness. Sinfulness is synonymous to darkness for sin can subsists only outside the presence of God.

“This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth;  but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him]” 1 John 1:5

Jesus is the light of the world that came to take men out of darkness. The absence of Jesus’ is darkness. With no captain on the ship, the fallen world has actively been under the influence of obscure forces dragging it at its mercy in a sort of the Bermuda triangle(also known as Devil’s triangle by the way) – hell. God will not save the earth and he has already decreed that He will destroy it on judgement day.

However, God has sent the Light, Jesus, to save humans from sinful behaviors. Following Him, is the only way out of darkness. God sent calamities (e.g. the deluge at Noah’s time) and still sends calamity as an expression of his anger against sin. In His compassion, he has also equally send blessings such as rain, sun and food.

Scientists are either fixing their own mess (e.g. global warming) or battling to survive in a crashing world. The world is like a wrecked ship taking water at every side. You never know when a tsunami, pandemic, war or financial crisis may struck anew against that ship. Engineers, economists, scientists, politicians and armies actively join forces to patch and repair cracks of that ship. This problem of this world is spiritual and this is why using non-spiritual means will only be imperfect solutions to man’s problem (e.g. psychology, meditation, drugs). This spiritual shipwreck happened when Adam sinned against God. Since then, it has become a never ending activity for man to try to keep that ship afloat. This world is corrupted and obviously not submitting to God’s leadership. It is just a matter of time for this ship to sink definitely. The problems this world is facing is more serious than it was thousands years ago(with cracks everywhere). But due to advance in science and technology, man has become more sophisticated and is able to fix problems faster. There will reach a point(and we are not far) where the great minds will be taken by surprise and find themselves powerless against the calamities it will face.

In Luke 8, we read that Jesus commanded a storm to stop and there was a perfect peace which followed. He commanded an unclean spirit to come out of the man and it came to be.

I do not know about you, but I would prefer to listen to the One who once created the earth, commanded it and still have power to command it.

“Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?”

Not only does Jesus have power over the physical world but he also have power over the spiritual world:

“Now He was [already] commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man“

The world is messy, there’re murders, rapes, theft, lies and adultery everywhere. Does these things happen without God knowing? Has God lost control? Did God permit these things to happen? Why do bad things happen to good people? Well, again, the absence of God is the reason of the world disorder. These things will happen and no one is spared from being struck from accidents and calamities because the ruler of this world, the devil is actively at work.

God has not promised that this world would be better if we turn to Him(through Jesus), He rather promised that we would be living eternally with Him in a new heaven and a new earth. This world has no future and it is on the brink of destruction. Therefore as Jesus said:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Mat. 6:19

Shall we obey God’s command?

“So the two sisters(Mary and Martha) sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”  So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,  he stayed where he was for the next two days.  Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

The raising of Lazarus is arguably one of the greatest miracles Jesus did. Jesus’ intervention occurred after 4 days, leaving no room for doubt that indeed Lazarus was cold as dead and not in a sort of comatose state.

If Jesus came when Lazarus was still alive and suffering, the insistence of the sisters and his friend Lazarus would have probably caused Him so much grief and sadness that He would have probably intervened to heal Lazarus. But this was not the Father’s plan, the death of Lazarus had to serve God’s purpose and reinforce the ministry of Jesus and mission.

In the old testament, the prophet Elijah prayed God to raise a young boy from death (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Elisha did the same for the son of Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:32-37)

The similarities between Elijah, Elisha and Jesus are that they all had a special relationship with the dead person’s family. The mothers or sisters all called for help to Elisha, Elijah and Jesus. They all held them responsible in a way or another of their pain. These situations were quite difficult for Elijah, Elisha and Jesus due to the close relationship they had.

“Let her alone, for her soul is desperate and troubled within her; and the Lord has hidden the reason from me and has not told me.” Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not give me false hope’?”2 King 4:27

The widow of Zarephath said to Elijah, “What [problem] is there between you and me, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to mind and to put my son to death?” 1 King 17:18

After Elijah raised her son she recognised that he was a man of God.

“Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” 1 Kings 17:24

It was the same for the Shunammite woman who demonstrated gratitude to Elisha

She came and fell at his feet, bowing herself to the ground [in respect and gratitude] 2 King 4:37

When these people were raised from the dead, this inevitably gave glory to God and reinforced the authority of Jesus, Elijah and Elisha. One difference though is that Jesus was aware that Lazarus would die – which was not the case for Elijah and Elisha to whom God kept it secret to them.

God will not raise from the dead every man who dies unless this miracle would serve His own purpose.

As the saying says “As sure as death” so is the resurrection of the dead. For ages, there has surely been great mourning when love ones have passed and it will surely continue until the return of Christ.

Jesus rose Lazarus after 4 days but when He will return He will do a greater miracle, He will raise humans who have been dead thousands of years ago and bring them before the throne of God to give an account (Rom. 14:12).

In Ezekiel 37, there was an astounding vision which happened. God spoke to Ezekiel and told him to speak to dry bones. Lazarus flesh was still there when Jesus raised him from the dead but in the vision Ezekiel had, we have an image of a God who can raise from the dead even dry bones, make flesh come upon them and make them living creatures.

When it’s all over and no sign of life but just a morbid feeling of dry bones all around, remember who is the Creator. Remember who made everything out of nothing. Failure, sickness and death are not the end. When all has been said and done, remember that God will always have the last word.

When God will raise every dead to face judgment, no one will escape. The sea and the earth will give up every human body it has taken for them to face their Creator.

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire” Rev. 20:13

The power of the resurrection that God deployed when raising Christ from the dead will be again demonstrated soon.

This is a living hope that believers who died have (not had). Death is not the end but the start of an eternal journey with God and Christians should eagerly await for the resurrection to happen and encourage each other with this hope. Paul said:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. ” 1 Thess. 4:13

I was once snorkeling in the beautiful Marine Park of Blue Bay, Mauritius. I was so absorbed in my discoveries of creatures that I completely forgot to raise my eyes and have a look around. When I heard the sound of a boat’s engine running I suddenly woke up from this dreamy adventure and tried to figure out where I was. I realized that I drifted for quite a distance from the boat which brought me to the marine park and that I was the only one still in the water. Despite swimming hard, I felt that my efforts would not carry me to that boat – I was in a water current!

Fortunately some guys in the boat saw me and waited but none of them knew I was struggling in a water current. I hesitated to ask for help thinking I could manage.

I was no longer thinking about those beautiful creatures I have just seen a while ago but only thinking how to remain afloat. I was exhausted and could no longer swim back and fortunately a friend came in the water to help me back to safety, when I called for help.

What happened in the water that day may also be your story in another circumstance. For example, a while ago when I started a new job, I was so absorbed to work, perform and learn that I forgot the essential part – be at the feet of Jesus. This can be a subtle experience but from my observations, this is very common when we consider the hectic lives of churchgoers.

We all have bulky agendas, projects, to-do list and find it easier to sacrifice the time we could have spent with God to increase our wealth or well-being. It is legitimate to find time for sports, studies and family. We may even find ourselves spending much time in church activities without actually spending time with Jesus, which is even more subtle.

There’s no point to argue or justify the importance of working, taking care of our health, studying and looking after the family. These are God-given responsibilities and we would do wrong if we neglected these. The truth is that we can do all these by still having Jesus as the center of our lives.

I was moving pleasurably in the water but heading in the wrong direction. My eyes were focused on me and the opportunities of seeing bigger fishes. It’s often when an event disrupts our comfort zone and security where we start to wake up. Waking up too late may often be a fatal experience so it is good to sit down and rest your soul. It is essential to be still (Ps. 46:10) and reconsider that God is where He has always been – seated on His holy throne and looking down on man.

When you spend time with God, it’s a moment where you ask yourselves these questions:

Where am I heading?

Where are my eyes focused ?

Where is my heart?

Am I obeying by doing God’s will?

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. ” Mat. 6:21

In these moments, where I have reflected on these questions and my answers, I repented many times of losing my focus and spending too much time on things I thought were priorities. It is in these moments where God speaks to our heart like He did to Martha:

“But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42

Martha was busy preparing dinner for everyone, including Mary and Jesus probably. Was not it necessary to feed the Lord and the guests? Who is going to prepare the dinner otherwise? The lesson here is that there will always be something important which will aim to take the next free slot in your agenda.

However, it is important to stop and refuse to take more tasks despite the urgency of the obligations. This is a dilemma which may cause a lot of incomprehension but it is a necessary good for you to re-center your life. What good is it to do things right but not doing the right thing? What good is it to drive fast but driving fast in the wrong destination?

“Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.  But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” Luke 10:39

The Lord rested on the 7th day, not because He was tired but because it was necessarily good to stop, look at the completed works and appreciate it. This is a great lesson for us, as humans we should discipline ourselves to work and fulfill our responsibilities but also not forget to take time to stop and reflect! If we work continuously on the 7th day, then it follows that if an 8th day existed we would probably continue and never end. What is it worth if you cannot enjoy the work of your hands? When we take time to rest and reflect, it is not a waste of time because there’re no activities. It is on the contrary the most important use of our time.

When the works were completed on the 6th day, God said: “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!“

Think about the works you have accomplished during the week. Are you proud of it? Whatever the answer be to this question, it is essential to have that time of rest where the creature spends time with His Creator to be at the center of His will. We need to ask God for wisdom to know how to live this brief life.

“Is it not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up in My treasuries? Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip;For the day of their disaster is at hand,And their doom hurries to meet them” Deut. 32:35

Is there anything worst than facing an angry God? It’s a God who does not act out of impulse, but patiently stores up His wrath to pour it out with might and fury against all ungodliness and unrighteousness- until the very essence of divine patience itself is brought to exhaustion.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Rom. 1:18

“But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done.” Rom. 2:5

The martyrs in the book of Revelation cried out for justice to the Lord:

“They cried in a loud voice, saying, “O Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood on those [unregenerate ones] who dwell on the earth?”

They were comforted and told to wait a little longer until the cup of God’s fury reached the rim.

Then they were each given a white robe; and they were told to rest and wait quietly for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed” Rev. 6:10

It is as though God is waiting for the blood of the last martyr to be shed so that His judgement be complete and thus rendering justice to all who would be oppressed, missing no one. No one will escape judgement, so why would God hurry to give incomplete justice? God will have eternity to handle billions of cases as it should, without getting weary or feeling under pressure. It will be a solemn moment for all creatures in heaven and earth when every man, one after the other, will have to face His Creator before the judgement seat.

In our perspective, it often appears that God is late to act and give justice. If you have faith, it’s not over yet. There will be a day where all cases of injustice and unrighteousness will be properly dealt with, with all due sentences. Even if the highest courts on earth fail to give proper justice, God still listens attentively and heartbrokenly those who have remitted their fates unto Him. His retribution is already in His hand and He treats not the culprit as innocent. No, the guilty of unrighteousness will not escape unpunished. At the right time, in His time, He will promptly act. He will not delay. 

“Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Luke 18:8

Even if we watch helplessly and desperately the injustice, our sighs are known. God hears night and day the cries of those facing injustice. The right sentence and payment for that injustice are recorded and securely sealed up in his treasuries awaiting pronouncement. No one will ever be able to steal or trick evidences to influence a verdict. There is no possibility of false witnesses or lies in His sight.  

Our words are all heard and we’ll need to give an account of them all, let us therefore be slow to speak for we’ll be judged according to what we say.

As Jesus said: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” Mat. 12:36

The righteous God cannot leave unpunished the sins of men thus all men will have to face His wrath and retribution. Without Jesus as advocate no man will ever be able to leave God’s court of judgement innocent.  The wrath which has been stored up and would have fallen on men has been poured out on Jesus as it is written :

“Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin” Is. 53:10

In as much as we rejoice contemplating the loving character of God we should also contemplate His righteousness. If God is only loving and demonstrates no justice, this would lead to a disorderly, immoral and corrupt world. We see injustice and evil everyday, where is God? God is where He has always been, on his throne and waiting for the right time to destroy the world and all its corruption.

Meanwhile, God has already taken the first step by demonstrating His love to humanity through Jesus. All men are being given the chance to repent before He takes the second step – judgement. Meanwhile, unrighteousness and injustice will continue and we should not be surprised to face injustice.

However, woe to those who have rejected God’s salvation – Jesus. As it is written:

“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” John 3:36

Foundation

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.” Ps. 89:14

A foundation is necessary whether we’re building a small house or a skyscraper. The type of materials used (cement, stones, metal bars) are what give the foundation its strength and guarantee to support tons of construction structure.

Similarly, in organizations the core values, policies, ethical or mission statements of companies are their foundations. For instance, giving value to employees and providing a quality of service to customers ethically are some of the principles. These organizations based themselves on a few aspects to differentiate their services or products. They have some core values or mottos which is the underlying foundation of their identity and strategic decisions.

The ethics, integrity, honesty required to have at work can be masquerades to project a good image. At best, these characteristics can be considered to be a sort of objective or line of conduct but are not necessarily the nature of the leader, the judge or worker. If for instance a company is tagged as being dishonest, it’s the foundation which is being targeted and this will eventually lead to the company to collapse.

If there are 2 things that companies, NGO’s or department of justice cannot claim to be as their identity and their core values, it’s righteousness and justice. Man is a fallible creature, laws have flaws and thus any decision taken by man, no matter how accurate it is, will therefore still have a degree of imperfection.

The above introduction was given in order to emphasize that only God’s Kingdom or government has as foundation righteousness and justice. Elsewhere, the Psalmist says:

“The Lord is king!Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad. Dark clouds surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.” Ps. 97:1,2

God is not the leader of a corrupt government as often seen in politics.

This God “never changes or casts a shifting shadow” James 1:17

“The sum(foundation) of thy word is truth; and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” Ps. 119:160

Though it may often seem that God is late to act or give justice, He will rightly deal with it on judgment day and sometimes promptly acts.

Jesus said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Luke 18:6

This God “is light, and in him is no darkness at all” 1 John 1:7

This God is the “Lord of hosts that will be exalted in judgment, the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness” Is. 5:16

David said : “You will be proved right in what you say,and your judgment against me is just“ Ps. 51:4

No one can challenge and find fault in God’s judgment and decisions. Job is depicted in the bible as a man of integrity, blameless and righteous. When he argued with God concerning his situation, he eventually had to shut his mouth when facing God’s righteousness.

“Then the Lord said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?Then Job replied to the Lord,“I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand.I have said too much already.I have nothing more to say.” Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: “Brace yourself like a man,because I have some questions for you,and you must answer them.“Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right?” Job 1

Man often blames God for the evils happening in this world and wonder how a righteous God allows evil to occur. Why are the wicked found not guilty and the innocent suffer? If God’s Kingdom was in this world, there would be no evil and injustice. This world we’re living will soon be destroyed and all the unrighteousness will be over when God will create a new earth and establish forever His Kingdom.

One thing that our heart should rejoice is that God is righteous and just. His decrees and verdicts have no flaws for nothing is hidden before Him. If God declares a man guilty and another innocent no one will ever be able to make an appeal to that decision. There is no corruption and trickery in His Kingdom. There is no hypocrisy but an atmosphere of genuine love and truth as the scripture says :”Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants”.

Though we’re living in a corrupt world let us live as children of light for there’s no darkness in Him. Let us remove any form of duplicity, hypocrisy, trickery, manipulations, unrighteousness and lies in our life for God is righteous. Our life should not have as foundation pillars of lies, manipulations and hypocrisy. These are the kind of evil foundations which God will break along when destroying the physical world.

Let your love be without hypocrisy or dissimulation as Paul said in Romans 12:9.

Pretending to love someone is similar to hating that person, if not worst.

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”

As the scripture says, let us instead set our foundation and establish our life according to God’s nature and character by being”rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith” Col. 2:7

On which foundation have you laid your life?

Sheep without a Shepherd

I once remarked to my wife of this unshaved old man I usually see strolling on the streets or travelling in the bus all day long. He did not have the characteristics of a man moving with a purpose or objectives (like going to work) but he looks more as someone moving around aimlessly and confused.

He was like that detached leaf battered where the winds blew or like a floating debris carried at the mercy of the waves after a shipwreck. My wife reminded me of the story the man erring in the wilderness as the evil spirit led (Luke 8:29). If Jesus is not holding the reins, we may end up either erring/running like a mad horse in all directions or invite the devil to take the reins (Luke 11:24-26).

There has been and there’re still many such wandering sheep moving wherever an opportunity of greener grass is seen. They are never satisfied with what they have and keep on moving. They have no stability. They keep on changing jobs, lovers or locations because they are masters of their own destiny and are without reins. They have therefore no one to direct their paths or cause them to stop or move.

This is how Jesus saw that crowd of needy and lost people coming to Him:

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Mat. 9:36

Why are people confused, stressed and wonder the purpose of this life? Why are people surviving instead of living this life to its fullness? Why so many agitated, anxious, worried, unsatisfied and troubled souls?

Who can bring peace and satisfy the soul of man if not God? Unless a man surrenders his will to obey the Shepherd, there cannot be long lasting peace. It is this endless search for perfection, more money and higher position that causes men to go astray. Wisdom says that the grass is green and safe to eat only where the Shepherds brings its sheep, not necessarily where the majority of sheep vote.

It is dangerous for a sheep to err. A sheep without a shepherd will be unable to defend itself against predators. It may fall in a pit without anyone knowing. This is why it is important to have God as shepherd. God does not abuse emotionally, intellectually, physically or spiritually but really cares and loves people. God sent Jesus to be like a shepherd for the human race but many people refuse to trust the divine Shepherd for providing, guiding and protecting them. Human beings need God as David said:

“The Lord is my shepherd;I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths…I will not be afraid,for you are close beside me.Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me” Ps. 23

 

The fruit and its tree

My wife and I have been observing the growth of a tree in our garden for several months and we are still unable to determine precisely to which tree it corresponds. However, we know that it is a citrus plant by scenting it leaves. We came to the conclusion that we need to wait for this tree to bear fruits to identify it. It has not ever crossed our mind that this tree could bear papayas or litchis because the tree’s structure and characteristics suggest that it is impossible for such a tree to bear fruits outside the citrus family. While it is not always obvious to determine a tree by only looking at it’s structure, it becomes evident when we look at its fruits. We cannot get bananas on a citrus tree nor can we get grapes on thornbushes.

This is how Jesus contrasted peoples’ actions and fruits. What you say and do clearly determines to which tree you belong.

Jesus said:

“Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” Mat. 7:18-20

“A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Luke 6:44-45

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned” John 15:5

Jesus’ made the above illustrations so the listeners and readers could understand clearly by looking at nature.

Several points we could observed:

1. We are considered as being a branch because we are the intermediate structural part between the fruit and the tree.
2. A branch cannot survive without being connected to the tree (while a tree can survive without a branch)
3. The fruit is a result of the plant’s DNA and the sap that flows from the roots to the leaves is what nourishes the tree and its fruit.
4. Since the fruit produced is a result of the genetic/hereditary materials it receives, the branch cannot on its own produce a fruit which is different from its nature from where it originated.
5. Jesus is the true Vine and every branch attached to Him should not only produce grapes but do so so abundantly. This Vine is not sterile but has a powerful life giving sap and it would be abnormal if its branches do not overflow with fruits.
6. Not only should the Vine produce grapes but these grapes should be of good quality because the Vine is healthy and the grapes it produces cannot be bad. A good tree cannot bear bad fruits.
7. Before and after Jesus talked about the tree and its fruits (Mat 7), Jesus talked about the narrowness of the gate, the true disciples and building on solid foundation. This again suggests that remaining in Jesus for salvation is the only way to heaven. All other foundation will collapse on judgement day. Not all those who call Him ‘Lord’ will enter heaven but only those who do the will of His father and go through the narrow gate and difficult path. Christ should be allowed to work in us and prune us . This pruning process is what renders the path difficult as the self is being crucified and no one will be able to go through the narrow gate if he carries the big yoke of sin(the encumbrance).

These words of Jesus are quite shocking because this means that if one’s actions, thoughts or words are bad then this necessarily means that this person is not attached to the true Vine for the true Vine’s nature would never bear such fruits.

When Paul spoke of how the Gentiles have been included to the salvific plan initially given to the Jews, he made use of the concept of “ingrafted branches”.  Grafting is similar to the medical concept of transplant where a body part is transplanted to a foreign body. This is what Paul said:

“if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble.” Rom. 11:16-20

Elsewhere, Paul speaks of putting off the old self

“to put off your old self,which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Eph. 4:22

This is the miracle of salvation. Christ took a human body like ours and has taken us, the branches, from the false vines or bad trees and ingrafted us in Him so we may bear fruits of a new nature and quality. These fruits are different from the original ones we used to bear when we were attached to a bad tree or false vine (Rom 6:21).

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed?” Rom. 6:21

However, since God has given us the freewill, He urges the ingrafted branches to remain in Him to live by the sap’s vitality. There is a clear distinction between those who profess to know Christ, never knew Christ and those who really knew Him. The apostate is one who really knew Christ ,received the Holy Spirit (Hebrew 6:4-8, Hebrews 10:26-30) and then turn away from Him. He commits such an unforgivable sin that it is impossible to bring him back to repentance. As Peter said, it would have been better if these people never knew Christ than know Him and then turn away from Him (2 Peter 2:21-22).

Those who no longer want to remain in Christ still have the freewill to detach themselves from the Vine (apostasy). Only the Gardener has the power to cut off branches that bears no fruits. As long as one remains in Christ His salvation is eternally secured and no one will ever be able to cut off a branch from the Vine or snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28). However, if one wants to leave God’s mighty hand, God will not force anyone to remain. Remaining in Christ and totally depending on His power is an integral part of salvation and God is glorified (not us) when we bear much fruits.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” John 15:1-8

What has God done that He is labelled as being a good God?

People are dying of hunger and incurable diseases daily and man looks to heaven and say within its heart “How can a good God exist?“.

Many humans are being abused , tortured and going through inhuman conditions daily and why does not the one called omnipotent God who sees and knows everything does not put an end to all these miseries?

Man reasons in his heart and points a finger to the sky and say : “If there is a divine being up there, you cannot be good”

The world is unfair, cruel and selfish and God does not intervene to bring justice to the oppressed? Where is God when it hurts? Why is God silent? Does God exist?

Man accuses God of failing in His role to protect and even hold Him responsible of all the tragedies it is facing. It would seem fair if those accusations against God could be placed in a court and find out whether God is guilty of all those charges brought against Him.

Fair enough! God came on earth in the person of Jesus and was judged by the Romans, which was the largest empire of the ancient world. When God came, He did heal the sick and help the oppressed. More than that, He came to bring a real cure to the world’s problem – sin. Sin in man is what caused him to be selfish. If there’re many poor people in a part of the world and wastage of food in another, it is because man is selfish. If millions of babies are killed it is because man and woman have become promiscuous and refuse to assume the responsibility of their acts. The ozone layer is damaged because of man’s greed for money and industrialization. The global warming effect is a direct result of man’s acts. If nature has become so disturbed such that the north and south poles have lost millions of cubic metres of ice in the last decades, the sea level has risen and dangerous cyclones have struck the world then I guess that man should be reprehensible in this matter. Millions of species have been destroyed and even disappeared because of man’s greed. Man’s greed and defiance led him to start eating such food that is poisonous or dangerous for its immune system. It’s not because of scarcity of food that man started to eat bats, reptiles or horrendous animals but because man has an unquenchable envy to defy God. Man has invented new ways of evil by making available live scenes of pornography on television or online. How do we expect man to have pure thoughts when he has been exposed to such obscenity? Our world has become depraved and corrupted because man has become rebellious to the counsels of their parents. If a man rejects counsels from the parents he sees how can he ever listen to a God he does not see?

Just look at the effect of the Covid-19. A few days ago, scientists observed that the largest arctic ozone layer ever discovered has been closed. Was it God who closed that hole or was it a direct result of the global lockdown which put a halt to pollution? Several renowned scientists agreed that the Covid-19 virus is an animal to man transmission. If man did not eat such wild animals as bats, reptiles or pangolins, the world would not have been in such chaotic situation. In the book of Leviticus, God has explicitly indicated that such animals should not be eaten but man preferred to disobey God’s command.

As long as man will insist to keep God away, the world would not become any better.  Scientists have contributed largely in the destruction of the world (nuclear bomb), nature(e.g. ozone layer) and have never been able to repair what they destroyed. Cigarettes, additives, colorants and preservatives added in food has contributed to the growth in cancer throughout the world. Does not man has responsibility in the spread of cancer?

God has already provided a cure to the ailments of society and diseases through the person of Jesus. Money is the root of all evils and the greed of money is a sin. God has been so good that He sent Jesus to the world to remove this evil among man but will man accept to repent of its sin? God has already given the cure and will NOT do more than that for man.

The world is already on the brink of being destroyed and God’s vision is not to save the planet but to save the souls of every man living on this world. God is not accountable to man and yet He has been so good to come into the messy world to save souls from eternal destruction. Is not God good enough?

Jesus said: “No one is good–except God alone.” Luke 18:19

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:16-18

Sometimes, we can be so absorbed in our work and daily activities that we simply do not take the time to question whether we’re properly using our hours, days, months and years. Simply stopping and asking ourselves this question “Am I doing the right thing? Where am I heading?” may spare us much trouble. We can be frustrated if we have lost an hour or two in a traffic jam or in a queue.  We can even be more annoyed for having lost a day figuring out a solution to a problem when there was a simple trick. If you have worked on a project for months and invested much energy, time and money and at the end all your sacrifices became useless due to an unexpected event then there’s much probability that you’ll end up irritated because of that situation.

If you have been working for a company for decades or have been in a relationship for years and suddenly this comes to an end without you having the possibility to remediate then you’ll be deeply affected and reckon sadly about all the wasted years. You know pretty well now when you have headed in the wrong directions and what you should have done. Sadly wisdom often comes only after we have experience life. Let us not let this perpetuate in our life, let us stop now and seek for wisdom before making another pace.

If only we knew the future outcomes in all the above circumstances then maybe we would have taken another road, not embark in a project or invest our time, emotions and energy in a particular job/relationship. But the thing is that no one knows.

Now imagine that it’s not just hours, days, months or years you’re losing but your lifetime! That would be the most tragic event and the bible describes those people as being deeply tormented by that situation such that they will eternally be “weeping and gnashing their teeth” Mat. 13:42. Wisdom calls out today to get right with God before it is too late. This is what the bible says about Jesus:

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” Heb. 3:15

If there’s one thing we can be sure about, it’s death. We’ll all die one day. You may not know whether, how  or when a relationship, job or a project may fail but one thing you can be sure about is that one day you’ll die. If you have failed in many things in your life, it’s nothing in comparison in failing to live eternally with God. You’ve probably wasted hours, days, months and years but do not waste your life.

Where are you heading?

Mat. 6:1

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Mat. 6:1

The Great Depression was the worst economic tragedy in the history of the industrialized world after the stock market crashed in October 1929. Over the next 10 years, consumers spendings and investments dropped and there was major decline in production in industries as well as a serious rise in unemployment. Wall Street went into panic and millions of investors were inflicted by this tragedy leaving a chaotic economic situation.

The Covid-19 pandemic is even more serious as it is not just affecting an isolated economy but the global economy. The root cause this time is not a result of a dysfunctioning economy but a health urgency causing a global lockdown. This global financial crisis is unprecedented and even more bruising as it gave no chance to the most brilliant economists to predict its coming. Who was enough prepared to dodge that blow?

I wish to point out to this wisdom of Jesus calling His followers not to store up treasures on earth.

Jesus is not saying that we should consider money and possession as vile but rather warning against avarice. He wanted to spare us the trouble of being heart-broken because we have placed our heart in possessions. Being greedy for money is an unquenchable desire which puts the owner always unsatisfied even though he has stored up enough. Making it our strength and security is even more foolish and I am quite certain millions of investors can confirm this claim today. As it has been during the Great Depression, this has been a recurring cycle for ages. Large areas under cultivation have been destroyed by insects or by natural calamities such as droughts or inundations. What has been profitable for decades can become a nightmare in just a few days. There’s no such thing as “secured investments” and time will prove that as long we’re on earth, the best investment we can make is investing ourselves in people and God’s Kingdom.

Ponzi schemes have deceived many and even highly secured banks have been robbed. What is highly valuable today can easily lose its value in just a moment. It’s just a matter of time for our possessions to be threatened by the environment surrounding it. So wisdom calls out to use money wisely by having heaven in perspective. Think not about how far you’ll get with your money on earth but rather think about how much you can use for God’s glory. Remember that God does not need our gold or possessions, He is himself the one who created gold and He needs none of them.  As we cannot purchase any thing from a man by his own property, so we cannot trade off with God by His own possession. However, being good stewards of what has been entrusted is worthy of rewards (Mat. 25:14).

What is important is that we use money as a servant for godly reasons and never let it become our master. Heaven is the only place where the rewards of your labor on earth can be kept secured and never degrade with time.