Monthly Archives: November 2011

Small Beginning – Huge Result

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Autumn trees

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Suggested Reading: Matthew 13:31-35

Jesus used many symbols to bring the reality of God’s kingdom home to His listeners. He really wanted them to get this. In these two parables, He uses the symbol of a seed and yeast to describe how God’s multifaceted Kingdom operates.

When Jesus uses a seed to bring across what the Kingdom of God is like, there are many facets to this metaphor. However, the two that stood out for me is the fact that a seed represents a small, invisible start to something big and fruitful. It also represents a dying before there can be life.

Looking at the Kingdom of God as the salvation of a person, we can see how the seed fits in perfectly with what happens. When we are saved, we may be elated, filled with joy and very enthusiastic for the Lord. However, there may still be very few changes in our character flaws and for others, looking in from the outside, it may appear as if nothing has changed initially. However, as time passes and He creates His character in us, our nature reflects the characteristics of Jesus more and more. May this serve as encouragement to those who are often disillusioned after they find that although many of their weaknesses are gone, there are many others that remain and which disappear only with time as we wait on the LORD and remain in His word.

Secondly, a seed has to die in order to bring forth a fruitful life. This is one of the mysteries of nature –how something that appears dead and useless can grow into something as big as mustard tree. Mustard seeds are indeed small. But when they grow they become large mustard trees which provide shelter for animals in nature and shade for weary travellers. Likewise, when the Lord plants the seed of His kingdom in our hearts, we may appear to be without fruit. But as we learn that daily dying to self –unselfishness –we grow into this huge tree that benefits all those around us.

Jesus also used the metaphorical description of yeast to describe the kingdom of God. As we know, there are many places in the Bible where yeast is used to describe sin and hypocrisy. Yet, here we see Jesus use the characteristics of yeast to describe the kingdom. Yeast is a living organism that, given the right conditions, will multiply the size of whatever it is put in. So, if yeast represents something good as it is in the context here where Jesus uses it to explain how God’s kingdom multiply, it can also multiply bad as is the case of sin and hypocrisy. Here, however, Jesus uses yeast to explain that we don’t need a big boo-ha to recognise the growth of God’s kingdom. The word is worked into the dough (the heart) and given the right conditions, that word has multiplied to produce a harvest multiplied. This ties in with the parable of the seed and the different soil on which it lands.

God is known for performing mind-blowing miracles, but many of the times He works in unobtrusive ways and to the untrained spiritual eye, this secret work may be completely missed. If we are forever on the lookout for some kind of big action from God, we may miss His beautiful and gentle work in the everyday affairs of our lives where He grows His kingdom in the most insignificant of ways as He works through us. Perhaps it’s just a kind word we spoke to someone, not realizing how much they needed to hear that today. Or perhaps it’s a smile we gave to a stranger who has had nothing but animosity meeting her the entire day. With these small acts our lights can shine before men and they will be drawn to the light and they will glorify the Father in heaven. Never underestimate the effect that small acts can have in advancing the kingdom of God. The beginning of His work in our hearts may be invisible to others, but God knows that He will complete what He started in us and the end result will not be invisible at all! We are formed into the nature of Christ.

Just a note: When Jesus spoke in parables, it was a fulfillment of a prophecy in Psalm 78:2.

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Blessings Fill the Thoughts of the Righteous

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South African Spring Wildflowers #1

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Suggested Reading: Proverbs 10:6-7

According to the author of Proverbs, the wicked describes a person who is quick to respond with an insult when insulted.

The head of the righteous represents his mind. His thought life is filled with blessings. Peter says we are called to bless and not to curse. We are not to return insult with insult. When we are tempted to do that, we should think of Jesus:

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23)

Jesus did nothing wrong. He was insulted for no reason. And yet, He did not return their insults. It takes no effort to return an insult with another insult. Anyone can do that. It takes tremendous courage to return an insult with a blessing –especially when you know it is undeserved. But how can we do this when our hearts desire to insult the person back?

A righteous person is someone who has received the righteousness of Christ –not someone who attempted to work for his own righteousness. That is called self-righteousness. When someone turns to Christ a cleansing process is begun by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the righteous person’s mind is filled with blessings towards his fellow man and not cursing. This state of mind becomes a crown which eventually becomes evident to all with whom he has contact. This is a process that is begun by God and will be completed by Him for He promised to complete in us what He started.

On the other hand the wicked proves the words of Jesus to be true: Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. In other words, when he opens his mouth the hatred and violence that fills his heart are reflected by the words he speaks. He has nothing good to say about another. He is always speaking of harm and hurt and pain.

The state of mind of the righteous man results in the fact that his name becomes a blessing both to him and his children after him. They will not be ashamed to be called his children. The name of the wicked however will be associated with bad things, bad reputation and bad memories. It is important to note that when the Bible refers to the wicked, it is not a reference to criminals only. It is a reference to all who have turned their backs on God and His Way of salvation. The wicked person may find that his children may dissociate themselves from him, not wanting to known to be his children and the result is that his name will not be remembered by his grandchildren. Solomon uses strong language: “His name will rot.“

How we live and treat others will determine how we will be remembered, not only by our children and grandchildren, but also by anyone who came into contact with us. May our Lord continue His work of sanctifying us through and through, since it is His name we carry.

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All God’s Promises are True

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Suggested Reading: Isaiah 14:1-2

After God destroys the kingdom of darkness, He will once again appoint His own chosen people as rulers over the land and they will be accepted by all. People from other nations will join them. Paul wrote that after the time of the Gentiles has fully come, God will once again turn to His people Israel with compassion and have mercy on them. So, what happened was that God chose Israel as His people. But they rejected Him and disobeyed His laws. He then finally turned His back on them and instead extended mercy to other nations.

The LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Aliens will join them and unite with the house of Jacob. Nations will take them to their own place. And the house of Israel will possess the nations as manservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors. 

When Jesus came “His own did not receive Him.” Although a Jew just like them, they rejected Him. But God remained faithful to His promise to Abraham and David and Jesus first told the Good News of the Kingdom to them. They were given the first opportunity to believe and receive salvation from their sins by faith in Christ Jesus.

This was the fulfilment of God’s promise to His people. In Jesus Christ, all the prophecies concerning the Messiah was fulfilled. But, most of Israel did not receive the Good News. They did not want to accept the righteousness from God and instead sought to achieve their own.

Then God extended that same invitation to other nations. This was all part of God’s plan since He told Jesus that He was too great to be the leader of just one nation and that other nations will be included in His righteous reign:

I will proclaim the LORD’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father. Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.

Quote from Psalm 2:7-8 and we see a similar promise in Isaiah 49:5-6:

And now the LORD says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD
and my God has been my strength—
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

But the fact that God now turned to the Gentiles did not mean He has rejected His people forever. For we as humans cannot make God unfaithful because of our unfaithfulness. No, He keeps His word…always. So, after the time of the Gentiles’ opportunity to join His kingdom has expired, He will once again bring His people Israel (or Jacob as we read here) back to Him and offer them another opportunity to receive His righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus, the God-appointed Saviour of mankind. When God returns to His people they will “make captives of their captors and rule” over those who oppressed them.

God is faithful in all that He does. The fact that He remembers His promise made to Abraham and David so many millennia ago are an affirmation that He never goes back on His word and should fill us with hope for the future. Whatever God said He would do, He will certainly do. He does not change like the shifting shadows.

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Where’s Your Favourite Place?

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The title of this post may sound a little deceiving if you read the introduction, but bear with me and read on. I promise it is not deceiving. :)

In the preceding verses of Psalm 27, David describes how his relationship with God allows him to face fearful situations in a fearless way. He does not fear when people slander him; he does not fear even when an army pursues him; he remains confident even if war breaks out against him. As he wrote in another psalm,

When I am afraid, I will trust in You. (Psalm 56:3)

It’s not that he never experienced the pains of fear. It is a matter of taking those fears to God. He knew God will be a light to him when he was unsure of his way, “The Lord is my light…” He knew God will save him and be his refuge and stronghold.

As we continue reading the psalm we see a beautiful desire in David’s heart –a desire which is the fruit of his relationship with God. In fact, he says he has only one desire and this is all that he seeks:

One thing I ask from the LORD,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple (verse 4)

Only someone who has a special relationship with God and who has discovered the beautiful nature of the Lord will express a desire like this one to be his only desire. The desire to be with someone comes only from love. Being in God’s presence was David’s favourite place.

So, how do we dwell in the house of the Lord? Is He only found in an architectural structure? Surely God is bigger than that! Although we may find Him in a church, there are also “houses of the Lord” where He says He is no longer dwelling in because of hypocrisy (see Jeremiah 7 for an example). So that’s no guarantee. The Bible says He fills this entire universe with His presence. He says heaven is His throne and earth is His footstool. “Where then is this house you will build for me?” Can we build a house to “fit in” a God according to those dimensions?

Jesus said that a time has come where it doesn’t matter where we worship God. In this present time it matters that our worship engages our hearts and souls. So the question is no longer where we worship but how we worship. There we will be in His presence –in true worship. The Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. We may have different ways of entering into His presence, but, as long as we seek Him in truth, we will find Him to be very near. For some, singing brings them into the presence of God. For others, it may be sharing His word. For me, I found that I experience His presence in a special way when I study His word and listen to devotional music. I know of people who find Him especially close when they are in nature and meditating on His word. There may be some who experience Him in all of the above ways. The important thing is that we desire His presence with all our hearts and we will find Him. He is everywhere!

Why desire to be in God’s presence? For David, being in God’s presence means safety “In the day of trouble He will keep me safe…” Here he will be hidden and here he will have his dignity restored. Our troubles in life can strip us of all dignity and we may start to doubt our value as a human being, but in God’s presence, things get put in their proper perspective and here we learn that God’s view of us is not determined by what others say about us. God makes up His own mind about us. We matter to Him. We matter so greatly that He counts even the hairs on our heads.

David concludes this portion by saying that the knowledge of what God does for us when we seek His face, results in joy. In psalm 16 he writes that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy. We take our troubles to the Lord, but we also take our songs of thanksgiving to Him. “At His sacred tent I will sacrifice…”

When we fully understand what God has done for us, what we sacrifice for Him will be an act of love and gratitude and not a wearisome obligation.

So here I ask again: Where’s your favourite place? I love Cape Town and I consider myself privileged to live here. It’s a relaxing pace of life and I wouldn’t like to live anywhere else on this earth, but there is a place which I love in a way that far exceeds Cape Town. The presence of the Lord is my favourite place, no matter where He chooses it to be. But I still hope to desire His presence in the way that David did: This only do I seek….

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