Jesus Came to Put the World Right Again

At the heart of Christmas is the reason why God sent Jesus.

John the Apostle wrote in his Gospel:

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. (John 3:16-17, MSG)

Did Jesus come to tell you how bad you are? Did He come to accuse mankind of making a mess of the world He created? No, not if we believe what God’s word says. Apparently people already have a good understanding how bad the world is.

He came to help, to put the world right again.

This is the posture He takes, since the beginning. He has not changed, and is not going to change. His heart has always been the same, He wants our good. He always comes on the scene for us when something turns bad. Always.

If you look at the world around us, there seems to be economic uncertainty, political instability and even religious extremism and persecution. When we send our hymnals to the photocopy shop they may be referred to the police. When you go for fine Christmas dining at the hotel, they may have no turkey. But take heart, He came to help, to put OUR WORLD right again.

When you look at your own world, is there anything amiss? Has anything turned bad? A bad report from the doctor? A business opportunity missed? A relationship turned sour? It is not His idea. Take heart, He came to help, to put YOUR WORLD right again.

So long as I remember and believe He came to help, to put MY WORLD right again, I cannot help but rejoice. I sense the spirit of Christmas in the air, and this year it is especially beautiful.

Merry Christmas!

Life Power and Dead Behavior

Jesus travelled all over to preach God’s kingdom and one time came to Jericho. There was a very rich man named Zacchaeus who was supervisor over all the tax collectors in town (Tax collectors were generally thought to be crooks serving the Romans fattening their own pockets with tax money). As Jesus was passing by he tried to get a glimpse of Him. But because he was very short and Jesus was thronged by a huge crowd he couldn’t see Him over the crowd. So he climbed up a big tree to try to see Jesus.

Zacchaeus had never seen Jesus before. But when Jesus noticed him He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come on down, I am going to stay at your place tonight.” Overjoyed, he scrambled out of the tree and led Jesus away to his home. Zacchaeus must have been astounded by the fact that Jesus could call out his name even though they had never met before. But many in the crowd were not impressed, and they said, “Look at this! Of all the people to have dinner with, He’s going to eat in the house of a crook!” (Luke 19:7 TPT)

In calling out Zacchaeus’ name Jesus demonstrated supernatural power – a word of knowledge. Imagine how you would react if you were Zacchaeus. Anyone who has his name called out by a stranger would stop to think. I believe this has a huge impact on Zacchaeus that finally led to his salvation (Read Here). The power brought life to Zacchaeus and his household.

But that’s not all to the story. I am amazed by the reaction of the religious crowd. Here they were witnessing God’s supernatural power on display, yet all they could think of was Jesus shouldn’t associate Himself with a sinner. They were very concerned about right and wrong, and that’s what they lived by. It didn’t matter to them that life has been served. They couldn’t care less if God has come on the scene. They just wanted to live by their principles and to look good.

That is how those who want to live by the Law live. In trying to fulfill God’s Law by their own effort, they found themselves estranged from God. It was like this in the Garden of Eden: Adam and Eve chose knowledge of right and wrong instead of life; they wanted to live independent from God. It was like this at Mt Sinai: Israel chose a set of laws instead of the presence of God. They didn’t want to go near God but instead asked Moses to get them a set of rules to live by. To me this is a big joke.

Paul told the Romans that he was not ashamed of the Gospel, and he said the Gospel is the power unto salvation for those who believe (Rom 1:16, NKJV). Let us not be offended by the power of the Gospel. It will surely bring life to many. It is Jesus’ method.

Scripture Link : BibleGateway.com

Power Indispensable

You cannot live the normal Christian life without a demonstration of power.

“Normal” as in being right. I recently learned a powerful paradigm: right is right if nobody is doing it; wrong is wrong if everybody is doing it.

Consider the following words form the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth:

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Cor 2:4, NKJV)

He is saying that you shouldn’t believe me if all I have is mere talk, but you should believe me when my message is backed up by a demonstration of God’s power – power to know of your problem before you tell me, power to heal you when you are sick, power to work miracle when you need one, power to differentiate if you are bothered by evil spirits or led by God’s Spirit, and power to prophesy into your future – speaking great things into being while they are not yet.

What is good for the great apostle is good enough for me. That’s why I insist that the gospel we preach must be backed up by a demonstration of God’s power.

What if we haven’t got it?

Then there’s only one thing to do: ask until you get it. You have not because you asked not.

The worst thing we can do is to make excuses. Paul couldn’t have meant what we read. The days of power is past with the apostles all dead. Because I don’t have it, it cannot be true. We don’t have to emphasize healing as we have good doctors now and good medicine. The supernatural only appeals to the simple and superstitious but today folks are knowledgeable and educated.

But does God’s word tell us that a day will come when our standard will be different from that of the Apostle Paul? Who gives us the right to demand faith without demonstrating God when even Paul dared not?

We are called believers, not doubters. Doubters doubt; believers believe. Every word God said. Plainly. Simply.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (1 Cor 4:20, NIV)

So if we want to preach the Gospel, we must back up with power. It is that simple.

The Power of Righteousness

The Old Testament emphasizes on the power of sin, whereas the New Testament stresses on the power of righteousness. Believers ought to differentiate between the two, else they will be confused while reading their Bible and not be able to reap the full benefit for their lives.

One powerful illustration to bring across the point is this: in the Old Testament, touching a leper makes one unclean; in the New Testament, touching a leper makes the leper clean. In fact Jesus authorized his disciples to cleanse the lepers (Matt 10:8).

Have you ever thought about this: in asking them to touch the leper Jesus is asking His disciples to break the Law! Why could his disciples now break the Law? Because it is no more about right and wrong, it is about Life. Law defines what is right and what is wrong, but it cannot give life.

Remember what happened in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve chose to know right and wrong instead of choosing Life. And so began mankind’s downward spiral until the Redeemer comes.

The Old Testament’s emphasis is the power of sin. Again and again it tells us that we are unable to overcome the power of sin (and it is sin that causes all human misery). All that passing laws against sin did was to produce more lawbreakers (Rom 5:20, MSG). That is exactly why we need a savior. After the Savior has done His job saving, sin has no more hold over us. We have been made righteous by His work and now have His Life living in us and out of us!

It is a beautiful thing that we can now expect the Life of God to flow out of us. When it does, it will overcome all forms of darkness surrounding us. Sin, sickness, oppression, fear, poverty and you name it; they have no fight with this Life. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10, NKJV).

So for believers the focus now is the power of righteousness, not the power of sin. Christians are New Testament believers!

If we fail to grasp this we will be looking for the power of sin even in the New Testament. If we insist on trying to be right on our own, it is like trying to be like Adam and Eve, doing it all over again. This is reading the Bible backwards.

The Blinding Power of the Law

The Law has a power that blinds people, as evident in Paul’s statement: But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart (2 Cor 3:15, NKJV). No one is exempt, not even great men of God.

John the Baptist, son of Zechariah, lived in exciting time. More so for him than for anyone else because he was the man tasked to usher in a new era – the era of Grace. The era started with Jesus, for the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17, NKJV)

But the fact is that although John helped to usher in the era of Grace, he was very much steeped in the Law. All he knew was the Old Testament.

The pinnacle of John’s career was his pointing out Jesus. Afterwards it wasn’t up and up for him. At his low point he wavered as to whether Jesus was the right one. He was in jail, and about to be executed by Herod. So he sent his disciples to verify with Jesus. He wanted to die knowing that he’s done his job.

Why did John doubt at the last moment? I think his vision was blurred as a result of trying to see through the Law. “Hey,” John was thinking, “the behavior of this Jesus sure doesn’t fit someone who upholds the Law.” Jesus loved to mingle among sinners and break rules of the Sabbath. John was fervent in upholding the Law and seeing through the Law. There was nothing wrong with that, except he couldn’t see God clearly.

Perhaps some might think it harsh to judge John like that, for it was none other than him who pointed out Jesus. If he could have seen clearly then, why could not he later?

The reason is that Law has an expiry date. Just like the milk in your fridge, you shouldn’t drink it once it expires its fit-for-use date. Paul defined in Galatians Law’s expiry date as followed:

Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Gal 3:24-25, NKJV)

So after the Son of God was revealed, John should have no business dealing with the Law. Have you ever wondered why John did not become a follower of Jesus like his own disciples did? If he had, he would have understood and experienced grace: And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace (John 1:16, NKJV). Also, his vision would not have been impaired.

Likewise for us, if we don’t want our vision to be blurred that we can’t see God clearly, don’t meddle with the Law after we have come into God’s Grace.

Image courtesy of jscreationzs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Names that Speak Grace

Names are never incidental, especially names in the Bible.

Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, had a name which means “God has remembered” or “God’s memory”. When he became old and had all but given up hope of having a child, an angel appeared before him to announce that God has not forgotten his long-ago prayer for a baby and that his wife would soon bore him a child. We could say he literally experienced the meaning of his own name!

But that’s not all. The angel even told him what name he was to give his soon-to-be-borne son. He was to call him John.

Somehow the same was also communicated to his wife, Elizabeth. It was not recorded if an angel appeared to tell her so.  But it seems she was a woman of faith and would not tend to argue with God’s announcement like her husband did. She had a good opinion of God and of what He said. The name Elizabeth means “oath” or “covenant of God”.

As the story goes, Zechariah was put into mute mode by the angel as a result of his unbelief. Even until the baby was born he couldn’t speak. When the day came for the baby to be circumcised all the family and friends wanted to call him Zechariah after his father. But Elizabeth insisted that he should be named John. They consulted the mute father and he asked for a tablet and wrote: “His name is John!” There and then Zechariah regained speech.

What’s the big deal about the name of the baby, so much so that Zechariah was anxious to follow what God said?

The name is John, which means “God’s gift,” or “God is gracious.”  

Zechariah had seen God’s word came to pass in giving him a son. He was now determined that he should name the baby what God had told him to. Blessing flows when we believe and heed God’s word.  But more than that, he saw the big picture. When we put the three names of the family together, it goes like this:

God has remembered His covenant with His people, a Covenant of Grace.

When I think of it, it is amazing that the Lord would go to such extent arranging the names of a family to bring across a message. How much is His love for us!

The Lord always remembers His covenant with you, and it is a covenant of Grace and Favor.

That’s why you can expect His favor at every turn.

God Has Remembered

There are some hilarious episodes in the Bible, and one of my favorite is about Zechariah the father of John the Baptist.

This bloke was a priest. As the story goes, they cast lots and it fell on him to burn incense in the sanctuary of God. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a great honor!  But the good Lord decreed that this was not enough blessing and wanted to give him even more. So as Zechariah was doing his job in the sanctuary He had the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared before him announcing some super good news:

God is gracious to you! For I have come to tell you that your prayer for a child, a prayer you don’t even pray anymore, has been answered! Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you are to name him John!...Lk 1:12-13, TPT

When Gabriel was done speaking, this was how Zechariah answered:

How do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is too old to give me a child. What sign can you give me to prove this will happen?...Lk 1:18, TPT

I can’t help laughing every time I read this. It is clear that he had forgotten what he had prayed and had long since stopped praying about it. Not only did he have not any sense of regret of his lack of faith and perseverance, he had the audacity to ask for a sign! I think even Gabriel was taken by surprise at such response.

Zechariah might have forgotten about what he had prayed, but God had not.

I wonder how often we are like Zechariah. But take heart, God remembers. More often than not, He still wants to bless us – more than we want to believe. So don’t be surprised if out of the blue your long-ago forgotten prayer got answered. Make no mistake then, it is the Lord.

Let’s have one last dig at Zechariah. Do you know what his name means? Zechariah means “God has remembered”!

The Lord sure has a sense of humor.

We've Been Offered Glory

He taught in the meeting places and He offered everyone glory!...Lk 4 :14, TPT

You read it right: Jesus offers everyone glory. That was The Passion Translation’s rendering of the later part of the 14^th  verse of Luke chapter 4. In the footnote the translator states that this is a literal translation from the Aramaic text.

I was stunned when I first read it. Never read it this way; I bet you too.

Jesus went about teaching in the synagogues, and He offered everyone glory! But what exactly does He mean by “glory”? Perhaps the following verse would shed some light on the matter:

But Jesus said, “Don’t you know there are other places I must go so I can offer to them the hope of God’s kingdom-realm? This is what I have been sent to do.”…Lk 4:43, TPT

So by “glory” Jesus meant “the hope of God’s kingdom-realm”.

How things go in the realm of God’s Kingdom?

In God’s kingdom there can be no shame, no sickness, no strife, no oppression, no bondage, no poverty and no lack of any kind. And Jesus offers us the hope of being in such a state - a state of shalom peace. Instead of shame we could have honor; instead of sickness we could have health; instead of strife we could have peace; instead of oppression we could have liberty; instead of poverty we could have wealth and instead of lack we could have abundance.

This is glory!

There are two more things about this glory.

Firstly, it has been offered to us by Jesus. We are not called to attain it.

Secondly, the glory is here and now. If it were not so, Jesus would not have asked us to pray “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Too many believers are waiting to get to heaven, whereas the Lord wants them to usher in heaven on earth now.

Glory! Glory! Glory!

You have been offered GLORY! Take it.

Image courtesy of Victor Habbick at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Happy Day

It is a happy day.

The little girl has only happy thoughts. Why, she gets to eat ice-cream! This is the third time in a week she has asked her father. He relented.

In the process she learned something: it pays to persevere.

Well, I bet she doesn't understand the big word; can’t even pronounce it. But she’s got the idea.

Her mother says that she is just like the father: loves ice-cream. She says that the little fellow has been having too much lately and that is the reason for her complaining stomach-ache for much of the past week.

He loves it – that her little girl is just like him. Got to be careful though; must refrain from giving her ice-cream. Not until her stomach is okay.

Sometimes, you need to persevere, to persist, to keep on asking. The Father who loves you will grant you the desire of your heart. At the right time.

And it is a happy day.