Jesus Knows What We're Like

Thanks for your prayers. It was a pressurised five days from Thursday to Monday but through it all with the love of Jesus and a good supportive family around me as well as a gracious church leader I managed to pull through. One of the writing assignments is scheduled to be published later today and I hope to be able to give the link. Another one is due to be published on Monday and there maybe a link to that as well. The third one may never see the light of day, but that’s all good as it fitted the purpose for which it was set out.

Now onto today’s blog. I have wanted to blog for two days at least, but felt time invested in the family would be better especially in the light of the sacrifices they’ve made for me. Here I am though and unusually I’m blogging in the morning, although what follows after this paragraph with an edit here and there was written last night. I just wanted to share what was on my heart on this particular issue. I think I’m of the mind that the fasting series will continue as of next month and use the remaining days of this month to just release some loose thoughts.

Here’s something you don’t read that often on this blog – a quote from scripture, KJV style!

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. – (John 2:23-25 KJV)

This came from a conversation I had with Authrine on Tuesday morning where I crossed on the nature of man being to not necessarily do as well for the common good as he should. So for example, I am convinced that there are people who know enough about technology to be able to have better energy efficient resources utilising natural resources like wind, sun, water, etc. That they do not invest in this is because of how it would upset the capitalist and fundamentally humanist (in the selfish sense) status quo.

The same thing is applicable with the reason for wars, maintenance of heavily flawed systems of government and finances and other related issues. The remedy isn’t far from reach but the effect to how things run would be too scary. As well as that although we like a quick solution and the signs and wonders, when the tide turns we’re quick to blame that which was meant to be our saviour into that which makes us a sucker. At heart despite our desperate desire to love and be loved there is something fundamentally self-serving about our natures that actually negatively impacts our other relationships.

This human nature issue led me to recall this very brief episode in the Bible and so I thought it was worth exploring it further. It’s quite an incredible statement to make in a world where people are so wanting to have their faith reciprocated by others to hear Jesus the one who apparently loves all actually not trusting Himself to people. Not committing Himself. Not getting caught up in the acclaim. Not loving the attention and setting up the Jesus of Nazareth fanpage on Facebook.

Not being specious or facetious but I don’t reckon Jesus would have a Facebook profile if He were around today. I don’t think He’d necessarily have a Twitter account either. I can barely see Him with an email account let alone blogging.

Don’t get me wrong, I reckon Paul would have had a laptop and a regular podcast on iTunes and Luke would have had a blog, Twitter account and a Facebook account. I dare say Timothy would even venture to have a MySpace and Bebo account. I just don’t think Jesus would have the time for these means of distant communication.

I think His energy would have been focussed on personal work in the flesh and time away to consult with His Father as to the way to go. In line with the scripture He would actually commit His life to those who were assigned to Him as His responsibility, i.e. His disciples. Even here as we’ve noted in scripture, this is only to a few, not to many. It’s one thing to serve others, but committing your life to others is something that you only do when specifically led by God.

As for a reality TV show, you can bet your bottom dollar He wouldn’t be seen anywhere near those things, let alone having a documentary team following Him as He walked the streets. He may not have allowed one to follow Him, but one would definitely follow just to get footage of the signs and wonders. I imagine Channel 4 doing one of their usual stitch up jobs in imperiously declaring this travelling talker as a charlatan and a harmless freak at best.

I only say that in considering what things are important to life today. Nothing wrong with social networking applications anymore than there’s something wrong with the TV, radio, mobile phone, regular telephone, computer, pen, paper, tablets of stone, smoke signals and the like. Just to say that when it comes down to it in as advantageous access to thousands of others around the world appears, there is nothing that beats one to one contact with no frills and spills. That way we can get to know people and hopefully know to whom we are to commit ourselves as. We can also be the beacon of compassion to see broken people made whole, bound people released, imprisoned and addicted people set free and those who are poor embrace the good news of God’s imminent Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

This is not a critique of social networking developments or of modern communications. It is just to say that for all my love of writing and making the most of the modern technology to explore it more, I desire everyday to have those encounters with people. I desire everyday to have those holy moments that bring people closer to recognising God for who He is by His grace and mercy. Those sacred times of the realisation not only that there’s more to life than this, but that this something more is all there is to life and is worth so much that life should be forsaken in exchange for this life. Those reverential experiences when the mundane, trivial and mediocre fade into nothingness in the light of the love, holiness, wisdom and majesty of the Creator of the universe made flesh.

In the meantime I reflect further on a man who knew what was in the heart of man – knows what we’re like and still calls us unto Himself.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Nothing Personal Part 4

Thanks for your patience, we’ve finally come to the end of the road and I can’t let go, it’s impossible, you belong to me, I belong to you. Hold on a minute – that belongs elsewhere doesn’t it? In any case, here we are at the climax of a minor detour from the thrilling fasting series that you’ve been reading with great interest. I’m looking at the theme of how things are not personal in the context of a journey from being insular to a more considered approach to different expressions of Christian faith. I’ve also identified my dear friend Pete Orton from Burton-on-Trent who has helped me in relationship reaching the position I’m in. In the last entry I laid the claim that the gospel itself makes some outrageous claims about the nature of humanity and how as a result it’s not going to be digested by everyone.

Do not forget the disclaimer from the first part! I won’t dwell on that, I know and you know it’s the thing to do before you think any further!

So we’re in the position that the power in the gospel is so amazing because it and it alone saves people – not intelligence, not works, not any other measure of man – only faith in the revealed Son of God and His restorative, atoning work at Calvary.

What does that mean for people who clearly have not accepted or even had an opportunity to receive this precious gospel? Well these people are susceptible to various forms of demon possession or at least loving the darkness. Apostle Paul sheds light on the issue in his letter to the church in Ephesus by stating quite clearly that our issue is not against people – flesh and blood – but against spiritual powers in high places – influential places, places that shape and guide ideologies, faiths, beliefs and the like in the world today.

So when I meet opposition from people the first thing I am to recognise is that it’s not the people. Having acknowledged then that it is not the people, the next step open to me is how to proceed from there. Often the best course of action is to leave the vicinity – no need for open warfare at this time. Equally sometimes it’s best to expose the force for what it is and expel it in the name of Jesus – that kind of stuff freaks people out, but that’s what we’re facing with a lot of people and we don’t appreciate it.

It has been exaggerated in places and its stigma has been used to turn people off from the reality of spiritual warfare, but I can testify that unless we recognise the forces behind people’s behaviour and beliefs we will either wear ourselves out trying to sort people out or worse still actively try to embrace those forces as we show ‘love’ to the people in the way of tolerating and endorsing their lifestyle. So what’s left to us is the task of finding out where there’s a demon behind the bush and following our Master’s example tell him where to go, i.e. behind us and far away from us.

Having been given all power in heaven and earth and commissioning us in the power of His Spirit we are told that we can meet this spiritual wickedness head on and experience victory by His authority. Personally this reality sometimes appears overwhelming and daunting and reading of spiritual luminaries who have faced tremendous spiritual oppression manifest in severe physical beatings does not entice me into the fray. Yet the reality remains that it is nothing personal I’m coming across when I meet staunch atheists, rabid liberal humanists and proactive almost militant supporters of other sects and religions. Worse yet it’s nothing personal when well meaning nominal Christians attempt to persuade me otherwise with the use of man-centred thoughts.

It can come across as personal and for the people themselves they can be so entwined in the philosophy and cultural norms that there’s no other way of looking at things. Yet what gives me hope and confidence is the Master and with that confidence comes a heart-felt compassion for people locked and captive to the forces of the enemy as I once was.

Within me then cries the same cry I made not so long ago for God to deliver them as He delivered me. For that same manifesto that Jesus read in quoting from Isaiah to be the reality for so many people who are otherwise closed from the power, glory and love of God’s Kingdom. I do not speak as one who is not susceptible to the wiles of the wicked one. I speak as one who has been the conduit for the malevolent forces of the wicked one to attempt to cause chaos in my home, the church and work. Yet I am the same one who has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and has been delivered time and again from the snares of the enemy. It makes the cry for deliverance in the Lord’s guide to prayer all the more important so that we are not trapped in sin and its consequences, but are set free from it to see God’s Kingdom come and will done on earth as it is in heaven.

It’s nothing personal – it’s everything spiritual, so we need to deal with it with the weapons of our warfare especially using the Sword of the Spirit to pierce through the ties that bind and bring liberty through the defeat of the enemy once more. Thank God for His Spirit at work in the lives of many bringing that deliverance and freedom to worship Him as they were created to do in truth and Spirit.

(I have a lot more thoughts on deliverance that I’m deliberating as to whether it’s worth posting them here on the blog. In the meantime what you can read for yourself is a recent six-part series of blogs on the LJN blog on this very subject – Deliverance, Deliver Us, Hear Me Out, What Hope of Deliverance, Is All Hope Gone, and When All Hope Appears Gone.)

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd