Am I a friend of Christ?

Recently while on a prayer walk I was reflecting on my relationship with my Lord and Saviour, a verse came to mind that raised the above question.

This self-examination of personal motives and relational strength is a must for the Christian as it forces us to see things that normally we are unaware of or simply choose to ignore. Along with my usual prayers and songs, from time to time verses will come to mind as I converse with the Holy Spirit. These are usually the result of questions I ask which are sometimes answered, sometimes not. Silence is often echoed back and I am left to ponder other questions, motives and actions in my daily life.

Today was different, today I was confronted with John 3:29-30 (KJV)

He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.

For Context, John at the time was speaking to his disciples and they were asking him about another who was baptizing people. As stated in the verse above the friend of the bridegroom; in which he is indicating himself as friend and Jesus as the bridegroom, rejoiceth greatly at his voice. And then he further states by extension that his joy is therefore full, before making the statement that he must decrease.

The big question here is why John said this and what impact it had on me and what impact it should have for all Christians. It took me a while to puzzle this out and what I am about to write is a revelation for my life and perhaps not the reader. I do however strongly believe that all scripture has meaning and speaks directly with every Christian where and when they are in their walk with Christ, so here we go.

For me John stating this to his fellow disciples; people who shared his belief in God and the message that he was preaching; the repentance of sin, has particular importance. He wanted them to know that Jesus was more important and that they should make a greater connection to him than anyone else. Sure John was a great preacher and helped bring others to God, but even he indicated his proper place by saying:

John 3:31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

But for me; as a Christian, the question became, am I a friend of Jesus? Was I, and am I taking appropriate action so that those around me, believers and non-believers know the difference. I imagined being there that moment when John was speaking with his friends and I imagine his voice as a reverent whisper, he must increase, but I must decrease. You see, I believe that this moment in time was a revelation to him as well.

Since that event years have passed and Christ has left this Earth, however he dwells within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. And our goal and mission since that time is to spread the gospel to the whole world. This knowledge coupled with the understanding that we are called to be Christ’s hands and feet here on Earth until his return leaves no doubt in my mind. To ensure that I too am a friend of the bridegroom Christ and to fully exercise myself as a part of the body of Christ in service to him, I too must decrease and he must increase.

Now I hear some of you saying, that’s crazy, how is that possible? The key is by capturing every thought and daily submitting to the Holy Spirit. I must choose the will of the father over all along with the shedding of all personal goals, and agendas. The key to having God’s peace that passes all understanding and abundant joy lies in our ability to take a back seat in our own lives. By the way when I say decrease I me inwardly, in the soul, in the heart, and in the spirit. Ask any Christian you know if they would consider themselves to be worthy or perfect, I bet they say no. The same understanding works here, to fully be able to do Christ work here, the indwelling spirit needs to have control.  Remember this verse:

Acts 4: 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none othername under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

In order to reach those who we are spreading the word to, preaching to, sharing our lives with and calling to be saved; Christ must come first. In order that we are successful in this great commission it is imperative that Christ is seen and heard by those we interact with. So for me I choose this day to become a better friend to Jesus and look forward to the fruits of that commitment.

Sometimes fights in a marriage can point to God

I know what you are thinking, but Ed I thought all married couples were blissfully happy. Well I am here to tell you that every, and I do mean every couple has fights, tiffs, arguments and times when the just simply wished that they weren't married.

Now if you’re married you know EXACTLY what I mean, if you are single I just left you scratching your head and saying what? So for the purpose of educating those who are not married, the perspective I am going to break down in this piece is geared toward those who are single.

First I would like to point out that I do not know where the idea that marriage will solve a number of your problems came from, but I do know that it is a popular point of view. So I want to set the record straight. People; and by people I mean everyone, are unique. Each one of us has different likes, hopes, dreams, opinions and ways of doing things that are different from anyone else in the world. This fact means that we will never ever see eye to eye with anyone. Sure we can agree on basic principles, even share a like or two, but when it comes down to who you are and understanding all of your idiosyncrasies no one on Earth will be able  too.

Now given this revelation, how do you possibly believe that given the number of people you will meet in your lifespan and corner of the world that you could find someone, anyone who would understand all of those things and be okay with them on a permanent basis? You simply can’t, and if you believe you can you are deluding yourself and setting both you and your future partner a standard that you will never be able to attain.

So now that I have established that everyone is different and we will never be able to marry ourselves, hear is the bottom line. People who spend time with one another will eventually disagree and even fight. Now we all know that this is unavoidable, but the question remains what do we do after? Some people clam up and don’t talk for a while, there are others that want to talk everything out and then there is me, I want not only talk, but set the record straight, explain things until they are dead and or fix everything right away on the spot so we can get on with the good stuff.

Now I am not saying which way is right, but I am sure we can agree that reconciliation is what usually happens after a fight in most marriages. I know personally for myself; I feel a stronger urge then most to get back to that place as soon as possible. But I want you to think for a moment, perhaps about the last fight you had with your spouse or perhaps your best friend if you are single. What was the feeling you had before you began to patch things up? Or better yet why did you even feel the need to patch things up, after all your view point is still your viewpoint right? You didn't crumble and change your view point did you? Perhaps, but that is not the important question here. The important question is what was driving that need to reconcile?

I know for myself I have a strong need for my wife to forgive me, I mean she did profess to love me at the alter right? Shouldn't that statement of love be bigger, greater and stronger than any slight that I may have committed against her? But that is the very paradox here, we are imperfect, and the love we profess is imperfect even though we wish it was not. Even the need for forgiveness that I have is imperfect, because although I may not know it at the time I am looking for that all-encompassing, all correcting, all forgiving love that will block out all of my mistakes. I am sure if you thought about it a bit more, it’s what you want too. Phrases like I want to be accepted for who I am, and I want to be understood, are simply the top layers of what we really want which is to be forgiven for every error and mistake.

Here is the difficult part, your spouse or your best friend can’t give you what you want. That forgiveness you are seeking can only come from a single source. That source is the one true and pure love, which only comes from the perfection of God and specifically from his son, Jesus. The bible states, that no greater lover is there than a man lay down his life for a friend. And that is exactly what Jesus did for you and for me.

So the next time you fight, and I know you will. Remember that it doesn't matter that you are right or wrong, what matters is that the forgiveness you both need, and seek can only be found in Jesus. 

What I have in common.

There it hung in the last watches of the night as if suspended by invisible thread.

Glaring down at me with silent obedience, full round and perfect.

It's great light a mere powdery reflection of it's symbiotic counter part.

As I watched it wait patiently in the sky for the dawning of the sun I considered it's maker.

What struck me as odd is that even we two shared something other than our presence in that moment.

Although we are much different, I too had been put in place for a season to reflect the glory of another in the darkness and that someone is Jesus.

In the late dark watches of my life I pray that I too can be as obedient and silent as the full moon.

Wayward Plea

Despite my best efforts I lack, Try as I might all my deeds do not stack, Up to the standards for which you have set, My life’s efforts of greed and get, Leave rubble and destruction in its wake, May your will be done in me for your own sake, Take my will and let it be, Always and only for thee, Forgive this fool his wayward path, And guide me with your gentle Sheppard’s staff, To you be all Glory, Honour and Praise, I dedicate my life to you father and all my living days. Amen

I am no longer a captive are you?

 

Breaking the Chain, freeing the Captive.

This past Easter has given me the gift of remembrance, not just of what our Lord and Saviour Jesus did for us, but also why. I know it seems strange but the two are connected, it is just that sometimes we can get wrapped up with one and totally forget the other. As awkward as it is to admit, I forgot the why somewhere along the way.

When Jesus started his ministry his first sermon was all about the why and is documented by Luke:

Luke 4:17-19 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

This is the first message of hope to all of the world. Christ came to deliver us and set the captive free. The cross itself the end of Jesus' ministry in the physical world is a perfect example of how we can respond to this truth. I am sure that everyone knows about the two other criminals that were crucified with Jesus and that one mocked and scorned him while the other chose to accept Christ for the perfect innocent man/God that he was and asked him to remember him when he came into his kingdom. 

It is the perfect picture of the two options that we have, sometimes this choice is daily, but it boils down to this. We can either choose to acknowledge who we are in light of his presence or we can choose to focus on our current situation and struggle in the darkness alone, lost and afraid. As seen by the one who confessed his guilt before Christ, his faith was justified by Jesus. For he said this very day you will be with me in paradise.

So I remind myself and urge you to do the same, do not focus on where you are and your struggle to fix things yourself. Take that sin, whatever it is that has you captive and acknowledge it. Then acknowledge that Christ and he alone was sent to set the captive free. In order to be freed from darkness we must bring these things to light. The key is to remember the source of our strength, victory and power. It is in Christ and the fact that he died for US. Hallelujah! What a gift, what mercy and grace, what joy.

Philippians 4:13

King James Version (KJV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Once we have brought all of our sin and failure to him then, and only then will we be free. It is good once in a while to remember ourselves as we were when we were children. I am sure each one of us remembers being caught in a lie or other petty, childish behaviour and how good it was to admit it to our parents and the relief that came with being reconciled to them. It is the same with our heavenly father. Repentance can be painful but the joy of reunion far out ways that brief discomfort.

Psalm 55:22

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

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Importance of Prayer and Meditation

Oswald Chambers’s devotional post, "My utmost for his highest," reminded me of the importance of the singular focus required for salvation, and that in all circumstances it is to be found in Christ alone.

"Look to me...," is the phrase he used to press this concept home. If our foundation, heart, motivation, reasoning, hopes, dreams, joys, aspirations, relations and all other emotions/drives are experienced in and through him then living perfectly is no longer inconceivable.

The question then becomes, where is my focus?

Do I seek him in all things/circumstances?

What issues do I struggle with on my own?

When is the last time I put on the armour of God?

All of these questions have a similar bent, which is self-reliance verse, Christ reliance. I don't know when it happened but it was probably slow and gradual like most backslides, I put more trust in me and less in him. Of course the problem with this is that life can quickly spiral out of control and even overwhelm you. Aren't you tired, I know I am. Boy am I glad that he said, "Come to me all ye who are heavily laden and I will give you rest." So in closing I will simply say that prayer and meditation with Christ is the catalyst for a daily renewed focus on God and necessary for true life.

Am I better than Job?

Every lunch I try to make sure that I get in some devotion time to recharge my spirit and strengthen myself for the balance of my work day. Today one of the sermons was based on the story of Job, when God allowed Satan to afflict him. The scripture reference was Job 1:6-12 King James Version (KJV) and can be read below.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

The reason I am writing this blog today, is because I have realized something new about this passage that I have overlooked in the past. God first asks what Satan has been up to and his response is that he has been scouring the Earth. He has been searching and looking into every nook and cranny; and as the devotional suggested, for those he can devour. Secondly God asks him if he has considered Job; a perfect and upright man, in other words since you have searched the Earth you must have seen and studied him. Satan’s response is that of course he is faithful and upright; you have blessed him and protect him. This is the important part, this is when God then allows him to go and afflict (aka test him) Job.

These are the two things I wanted to point out about this passage. One God has faith in our ability to choose him over Satan and secondly and more importantly God will allow us to be afflicted with trials for his Glory. Many times I have questioned why things have gone the way they have in life, as I am sure many of us have. There were even times when this caused me a lot of doubt and concern; however, recently I have noticed that I am placing myself more and more in the care of the Lord. Apparently I am gaining the ability to trust in him in all things which I believe is a sign of growth and maturity. However, I have heard and remember times when either myself or someone else have uttered the words, Why me?

After re-reading this text I can confidently say I will not do so again. For unlike Job there has never been a time that I have been perfect and upright, meaning if Job can be afflicted, why shouldn’t I. Are we not all here to bring Glory to God? Is that not why we were made? Is it not he alone who is good, just and worthy to be praised? Just something I think we all should ponder.