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How To Beat The Summer Heat

I was once given a small leaf of paper by our sister, Hedy with a list of six things to ‘beat the Summer heat’ – with a spiritual twist. In reflecting on each one, I searched for scriptures to make sure each were aligned with God’s word. And so if you’re feeling a bit hot and bothered by the dry Summer weather, these tips might be just what you need! (Notice it says how to beat the heat – not just survive. Through Christ – we are overcomers, amen!)

 

1. Refresh your mind by reading the Bible

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

Sometimes we can get ourselves all hot and bothered worrying about what God’s will is and therefore how we should pray. Barry Chant in his book “Praying in the Spirit” speaks of how when he was a young Christian, he agonised over this issue. Questions like what is God’s purpose for me, should I marry or stay single, should I get a job or study? turned into questions like am I walking down the right side of the street, am I sitting in the right place on the bus? But as time passed, he learnt to relax a bit more and trust God. He also pointed out that reading the scriptures while we pray is an excellent mode of prayer. To ‘blend our own personal expressions of honour to God with those of the Bible is a fruitful exercise’. While doing this, we cannot help but start praying according to the will of God and renew and refresh our minds in the process!

 

2. Face the billowy breeze of the Holy Spirit

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

Here, Jesus was talking to the pharisee Nicodemus about how as the natural man hears the sound of the wind, so the man born again can hear the voice of the Spirit. He was perhaps talking about the Holy Spirit as a cool breeze which emits from everyone who is born of the Spirit. Wind always blows from one place into the opposite direction (i.e. North to South). And to feel the breeze, we must be standing in the way of its trajectory. To be ‘cooled’ by the fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit, we must stand in the ‘way of God’. Face Him. Look to Him. And not only that, but in amongst other believers. Because the Holy Spirit breeze is rushing through all those filled with the Spirit and if you hang around them, you’re sure to get a nice gust or two!

 

3. Shower yourself with God’s bountiful blessings.

You’ll notice this one doesn’t say wait for a shower. It says shower yourself. Yes, we can wait around for God to bless us. But if we’re only doing this passively, and not living in any particular way that is pleasing to God or just going about our business, chances are we won’t see those blessings. That’s not to say they aren’t there. What I mean is that you might not experience them, notice them, sense them.

When I think of seeking blessings, I think of Jacob and Esau. (Genesis 27) I have struggled with Jacob’s deception in this story and how God chose to descend His holy people from him. But it is this very fact that makes this story so remarkable. Is it not a picture that God’s grace does not triumph because of us, but in spite of us? It tells of man’s yearning for God, and God’s desire to bless us despite our sin. God's sovereignty and goodness overrule man's wilfulness and wickedness.

I also think of the famous ‘priestly blessing’. In Numbers 6, Moses is instructed to tell Aaron, the high priest, to bless the people using specific words given by God Himself. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

God wants to shower us with blessing. But perhaps we must ‘turn on the tap’, so to speak, and not be afraid to ask for it!

 

4. Drink from the springs of living water that will quench your thirst forever.

A long drink of cool water is just the ticket when you’re feeling hot and thirsty. But what of our spiritual thirst? We were created as physical beings in need of water to survive, and we were also created as spiritual beings, in need of spiritual ‘water’ to survive.

In Jeremiah 2:13, God says that He is the spring of living water. What God’s people had done at the time was dig ‘their own broken cisterns that cannot hold water’. This is a powerful picture of what we do when we think and act as though we can live our life on our own without God’s help and guidance. We want to store up our own achievements and abilities and not have to depend on God, but what we end up with is stagnant, un-fresh water that becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, mold, viruses, insects, vermin, and disease.

A spring is always flowing. It is fresh. It is clean. It will sustain. It gives life. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of living water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:13-14)

He told a bunch of people publicly that anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His heart’. (John 7:38) By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:39a)

And how can the Spirit, Who is eternal, ever ‘run dry’? And how can He be anything but clean, fresh and life-giving?

So although Jesus tells us that with the Spirit, we will never be thirsty again, we must drink deeply from the Spring daily and be refreshed, renewed, sustained.

 

5. Break the ice with someone against whom you are holding a grudge.

Coldness is not always a good thing. How about when someone is giving you the ‘cold’ shoulder. Or if someone is being ‘as cold as ice’ towards you. Kindness, friendliness, forgiveness… this is the kind of warmth we like in Summer and all year round.

How much has God forgiven us for? I’m sure it’s not just me who would rather not be judged and condemned for all these things. And so we must not judge and condemn others. Holding a grudge is a bitter taste in the mouth. It is a bucket that carries a heavy burden of anger. It is the dress-rehearsal for revenge and wrath. The foundation of hate. Ephesians 4:31-32 tells us to Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

To let go of a grudge is a choice. Often a difficult one. But we do have the power to choose. This is why holding grudges, along with most (of not, all) other sins is an act of fear, weakness, and timidity. But do not worry. God will provide us with the strength that we need. For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) All we need do it exercise it. When we exercise our muscles, they become stronger. In the same way, by exercising our ‘inner’ muscles and faith in God’s power, we can overcome things that tempt us.

Is there someone you’re holding a grudge against today? Is there someone you can ‘exercise your faith’ with today, and break the icy cold barriers that hinder our spiritual lives?

 

6. Create a pleasant climate in your home where joy can grow.

What do we do the moment we get home on a hot day? We turn on our air conditioner. Similarly, if it’s freezing cold outside, we would put on our heater. If these aren’t possible, we naturally turn to things that will make us a little more comfortable, like adjusting the number of layers of clothing we are wearing, or doing an activity that will help our body regulate its temperature.

Similarly, we should be aware of and take action to regulate our home, so that it is conducive for spiritual contentment and godly joy. How do we do this? I don’t think any of us have a ‘spirit-conditioner’ in our house with adjustable controls. (If you do happen to have one, please let me know where I can get one!) But we do have God’s Spirit, living and active in us. And we do have God’s word living and active on our hearts.

Colossians 3:8-10 comes to mind: But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

To me, this seems to be like having a good old clean out! Get rid of the dust, the old smelly things, the things that don’t work anymore, the torn holey socks, the broken Tupperware bowl, the things that only add clutter and stress. Get rid of them! Be renewed! This might be a good start to regulating the climate of the home.

Then, know and understand that every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. (Hebrews 3:4).

Come back to God in all your thinking. Fix your thoughts on Jesus and commit your home to Him. Further on in verse 6 of Hebrews 3, it says, But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

If we acknowledge that we are His house – His temple, honour and trust Him as the Master Builder, then our homes, which are merely wood, bricks, cement, and plaster, will permeate with God’s Spirit, God’s will, and God’s renewing love!

Take Captive Every Thought

Our Bible tells us not to be afraid but take every thought captive to obey Christ.  As with Adam and Eve, Satan tries to deceive us, telling us that God does not really love us and that we should not believe him but take matters into our own hands, like taking the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.  This has been the world's response to God. And often Satan will tempt each one of us to disbelieve God and take matters into our own hands, whether it be disputes with our neighbours or family members or those who seem to be attacking our rights.

 

 

How should we respond to the Devil's deceptions? I think Paul sums it up well in 2 Cor 10:5. “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”. When Paul was writing his first and second letters to the Corinthians, he was very conscious of the spiritual warfare that had been going on. The Corinthians had been deceived into thinking that they could use the communion meal as an excuse to get drunk. Worse than this, some had been misled into believing that sexual immorality could be tolerated. No, said Paul, you must separate yourselves from those going down that path and they did. An important warning for churches today!

 

There had been one problem that had not been addressed and that was division over leadership.  False leaders had even attacked Paul claiming that he was bold in his letter writing but weak when present, that he was stealing the collection raised for believers in Palestine and that he was not a true Apostle!  

 

So Paul defends himself and instructs them how to not be deceived. He says that our weapons as Christians are not worldly but have power to destroy strongholds. So Paul urges the Corinthians not to accept false ideas and accusations but to challenge these ideas with the mind of Christ. This is how we too must examine ideas put before us.  Our response must be to capture our thoughts to obey God and not let our fears or Satan’s deceptions rule our minds and hearts.  Some people and whole churches even are being deceived to follow worldly views of morality and throw away God’s laws.

 

Years ago I was at a men’s meeting discussing worldly matters.  At one stage a man attacked my view of things. He said; “You always answer referring to God or the Bible.  Don’t you have any thoughts of your own?!”  Well of course I had, but I had taken these thoughts captive to obey Christ.   So this is how Paul urges us to respond.  I was describing this at another meeting when someone said “You are asking people to track the pattern of their thinking! This is well known in the medical world but you cannot expect ordinary people to understand that or practice it!”.  Yet that is what our Bible tells us to do. What are you thinking and what is the direction of that thinking? Interrogate yourself! If it is unreal and dark, pull yourself up and say, “No that is not true and going down that path does not honour the Lord!”  Let us take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ!

 

Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, we give thanks that you have saved us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and sent the Holy Spirit to help us in spiritual warfare. Grant us your strength, wisdom, and clarity of mind that we may trust and obey you and fight against deceptions from Satan and the world.

Amen.

Keeping or Making Peace?

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matt 5:9) One of the many roles as a teacher is to be a peacemaker. Some days just seem to be filled with little people’s problems and me trying to fix them. So, if I’m making peace all day long, that means I’m going to be really blessed right?

Well… let’s explore what being a peacemaker actually means. According to the dictionary, it is: freedom from war, hostilities, strife, or dissension. Or, a state of being tranquil or serene. Some people might say that peace is tolerance, and readiness to give way to others. But this is not what God brings to the world, or even what the world needs. It’s only part of the picture. True peace requires a complete change of nature, and it comes from God alone. It is reconciliation with God, and with each other through Him.

So what is a peacemaker? It is not merely someone who ends hostilities, is tolerant, and is ready to give way. It is someone who promotes the kingdom of God, reconciles adversaries, extinguishes hatred, unites those who are divided, and promotes true understanding and spiritual love. There is a big difference between the two. The first group of people are more passive and what you would call peacekeepers, not peacemakers.

Being tolerant is good with respect to our dealings with people, but it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t usher the peace of God into the world. It’s keeping the peace. Agreeing to disagree. It seeks to keep everyone happy.

Peacemakers understand what true peace is, that it is spiritual and not just a political seeking. But why should we pursue peace and seek to share it around? There are a number of reasons the Bible gives:

  1. To be holy in order to see the Lord. Heb 12:14 says, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
  2. To gain righteousness. Jam 3:18 says, “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”
  3. Because it pleases God. Rom 14:17-19 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
  4. It is our calling. 1 Cor 7:15 says God has called us to live in peace.
  5. To be called a child of God. Matt 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.”

Why do we want to be called children of God? Apart from the obvious, (that we want to live eternally with Him and become heirs of His kingdom) He simply desires us to be. Eph 1:5 says, “He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.”

It’s interesting to point out that making peace, is not always going to look peaceful straight away. Jesus Himself stated (in a different context) that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt 10:34). While Jesus came to bring peace between God and humans, not all humans will readily sign up for ‘Team Jesus’, and so there’s bound to be conflict between humans. There has to be some wrestling, some ‘to-and-fro’ if we are to arrive at true peace. In this way, it is easy to see how being a peacekeeper is simply not enough.

To become peacemakers, let us look to Jesus, the ultimate example of how to live our lives. In 1 Pet 2:23 it says, “When they hurled insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him Who judges justly.”

It is so easy to retaliate. It’s what our human nature instantly wants to do when we have been hurt or attacked in some way. But it is not up to us to judge and punish those who wrong us. It is for us to walk away and pray about it, and God will deal with it in His way. Easier said than done, and how often do we put it into practice? It really is something when Jesus didn’t retaliate to the things that were done to Him. Why is it so hard for us? Why, in the heat of the moment, can’t we do it? Well, we can… by the Holy Spirit!

Galatians 5:16-18 says, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh… But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law of sin.” And to be Spirit-led is to be a child of God (Rom 8:14-15).

So be a peacemaker, not just a peacekeeper. Be active. Be the one to reconcile, love, and forgive on purpose, pray for your enemies as well as your friends, and by doing these things, you will usher God’s true peace into the world, promote the kingdom of God, and of course, become sons and daughters of the living God.

Prepare Him Room

Our Christmas celebrations this year are centred around the theme of "Make Room". How many references can you think of in our favourite Christmas Carols to ‘making room’?

 

In the story of the birth of Jesus, we can see how different people ‘made room’ for His coming. In a very literal and corporal sense, Mary made room for Jesus to grow in her body. Joseph made room in his life to be a father to a child which wasn’t biologically his own. 

 

In Luke 2:7, we encounter the familiar phrase, "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."

 

I don’t know about you, but when I read that familiar passage, I imagine Joseph knocking on the door of every hotel in town only for him and the heavily pregnant Mary to be cruelly turned away to a cold and dirty stable because there was ‘no room in the inn’. But I wonder if this is the most accurate interpretation of the scripture.

 

I encourage you to read the accounts of the birth of Jesus and take note of how much you might be assuming based on the lyrics of your favourite carol or nativity movie.

 

There are two Greek words we often translate to ‘inn’. ‘Pandocheion’ is the word Luke uses to describe a commercial hotel in the story of the Good Samaritan, but that is not the word he uses in the story of the birth of Christ. Here he uses 'katalyma' and refers to the guest room attached to a typical peasant family home. These homes consisted of a single room where the family cooked, ate, and slept. Half of the room had a sunken floor, and the family would bring their animals into this area at night for protection and warmth.

 

A small hollow would be cut into the edge of the raised level which would be filled with straw for the animals to eat from. The manger. There was often a separate room upstairs for guests to use, like the room Jesus and his friends would later share their Passover meal in.

 

Could it be that Mary and Joseph were not cruelly turned away from a commercial inn, but welcomed by a family into a home where the guest room was already occupied?

 

Why does Luke highlight the fact that Joseph was of the line of David and returning to Bethlehem, the town of David? Does the narrative of Joseph being turned away fit with what was likely a prevailing culture of hospitality and respect for heritage?

 

I invite you to consider the warmth and humility displayed in that small Bethlehem dwelling. As we reflect on the Christmas story, may our understanding be deepened.

 

As we prepare for this season, let us also remember the words of John the Baptist as he ‘prepared the way’ for the Lord. He was the one foretold of in Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Matt 3:3 from Isaiah 40:3)

 

May we discover ways in which we can ‘make room’ for the Saviour and prepare the way for Him in our lives, whether they be busy and crowded, or quiet and lonely.

 

Significance

Sometimes, when you are older, younger people may ask what things you have learnt in life. I think what I am learning, in case you are interested, is epitomised in the words of John the Baptist when referring to Yeshua, Messiah: “He must increase, I must decrease.” Even when you are old you can make the same mistakes you made as a 20-year-old. Just last week I spoke unkindly to a friend. What you learn firstly, after apologising, is how you might say it better next time, but more importantly the revelation that one is not always such a pleasant person, for lurking in the shadows one doesn’t know who might, from within one’s character, show up under provocation. I had a vigorous disagreement with my brother a few weeks ago – I was unpleasant! Again, followed by an apology. These failings have helped me to see that I am of less significance as a person. We can take our failings; failure in business, failure in education, failure in fatherhood/motherhood, as a son/daughter, relationships, our walk with God, you name it, and let them pull us into a descending ‘low-life’ spiral, a diminishing significance of self. It doesn’t have to depress us though. What I’ve noticed in this “examined life” is how powerfully the Bible speaks while I continue to deal with my sin and walk in step (mostly) with the Holy Spirit. The lower I go, as I get older, the more I find myself in Christ.

 

Now, I’m not big on success or wealth or status. If one is an achiever, a winner, prominent in one’s field even through hard work, and with a favourable disposition as a Christian, you tell me, how do you find the precious place, the “pearl” of insignificance? Does it send you to your knees more often? Do you have a strategy for abiding in Christ when status, respect, and privilege come knocking regularly at your door? I am glad that many Christians are successful. But, if the most satisfying experience in this life is to have the Holy Spirit settle on you, to breathe His life and power into you, do you think He will be willing to share His glory with your status? – it’s laughable.

 

So, if any young person asks me what I have learnt thus far in my life I’ll just say, it’s better to regard one’s reputation, either for success or failure, as a stepping stone to humility and brokenness before our God. To find oneself on the “narrow way” to emptiness and insignificance in this life as a Christian is to recognise the royal and priestly markers of His authority, His presence, His peace, and His faith. For me, these are the most satisfying aspects of growing into age in Christ.

 

While you are there, perhaps we could talk a bit longer about some curiosities of aging. Hear this part song lyric from the late Keith Green, “My eyes are dry, my faith is old, my heart is hard, my prayers are cold” and this quotation from 20thC missionary, CT Studd, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell”. Polar opposites as you can see. Jesus, in Revelation, admonishes the church in Ephesus because they had lost their first love. This is common in the Christian life and not just in the elderly. So while I have laboured on insignificance above, I want to bring some consolation about significance. When our prayers are cold and we have run out of enthusiasm for the lost it is commendable to attempt to resurrect them by our own abilities. This is how we are educated and what is expected of us, but we mustn’t. Let me mention what happened to me recently. I had been praying, beseeching, pleading with the Lord to release me in the Spirit. I had been doing this for about a year on most days. My confidence, on receiving from Him by faith and thanksgiving, was established by His word whereby He exhorts us to do so and therefore He must honour His word. So, I was sitting in a crowded hall waiting for a meeting to begin when a most beautiful peace, His peace, settled upon me and with His words to my mind, “all things are possible”. And, I could see immediately that this was the reality of the spiritual life. You know, Jonathan Edwards said, “reality is greater than truth”. A profound insight, and one explanation for it may be that spiritual reality bypasses our intellect.

 

Therefore, if we want significance for Him, whereby He can get glory out of us by what we say to others, our prayer vigour, our service, our devotion to Him, then we are encouraged to seek Him out even when we least feel like it. We can ask Him to take us from where we are, even a “slough of despond”, into an important and significant place where we know our words are guided and inspired by Him, where we are aware of His leading in prayer and His strength in service and sacrifice. We will be bold, courageous, in authority, spontaneous, overcomers – people of His faith. So, if this applies to you, maybe just one person in the congregation, don’t give God any rest. Press into Him every day, read the Bible until you love it, worship Him in posture and your words. Step into your youth, your first love and He will get glory out of you.