YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU

You may have heard of the one about the rich man who died and turned up at the Pearly Gates with bags of gold bullion. St. Peter asked him, "Why did you bring paving stones to heaven?" The joke is funny because it highlights the absurdity of attempting to take this life's temporary riches into The Life to come, and how even more ridiculous it would be - even you could - due to Heaven's already magnificent limitless opulence. Nothing in this life surpasses The Life that awaits those whom God has saved. But there is something that we can take with us from this life into The Life to come. 

...Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
First Timothy 4:7b- 8

The aged apostle told his protegé that you can take it with you - but not stuff. Rather, the one thing you can take with you from life temporal into Life Eternal is: godliness. When the child of God is brought Home to be with their Magnificent One, their knowledge will exponentially increase ("now we know in part..."). The child of God's abilities will be dramatically multiplied and improved to superhuman levels. Perhaps most deliciously, the child of God can look forward to a perfected, glorified body that will never tire, ache, degrade, or age. But godliness holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. In the Life To Come, no one will be more godly than they attain to in this life. Paul previously introduced this revelation as a 'great mystery'. 

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
First Timothy 3:16

The aged apostle knows that he is about to depart this Temporal Life and enter The Life To Come. In his final months, he was betrayed, slandered, abandoned, imprisoned, mistreated, and humiliated - yet, in all this, he was being made more godly..

By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
First Timothy 1:19b-20

Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
Second Timothy 4:14

The godly person used to fester with bitterness when they were wronged. But then godliness has a way of working its surprising and gentle transforming that a bitter person is yet to savor or enjoy. 

WHAT IS GODLINESS?

Godliness is a profoundly deep respect for God and His Word that draws a person into an equally profound surrender to God. This delightful devotion seamlessly becomes a perpetual lifestyle of worship which produces a glad and willing obedience to Jesus that God mercifully allows to be sorely tried. And this proving is emphatically indispensable to genuine godliness. Godliness cannot be produced apart from adversity, trial, overcoming temptation, refusing to justify our compromise, or hardships. It is only in those moments when the child of The Most High has to depend upon and resolutely trust her God that godliness can be beautified and proven. 

Paul says that some people claim to be followers of Christ - and even look godly - but watch them under pressure and adversity! When challenged by spiritual leadership do they submit or become: reckless, swollen with conceit and pride, doing what they want rather than what they should?

treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
Second Timothy 3:4-5 

Godliness is therefore an attitude that is observed by acts of devotion to Christ that brings its devotees into closer and sweeter communion with Christ. Godliness is not holiness because holiness is a result of godliness. It requires training (1Tim. 4:7). It fosters proper responsibility toward family members (1Tim. 5:4). It is fueled by sound Biblical teaching (1Tim. 6:3). It gives more than it takes (1Tim. 6:5). It is prized above any material gain (1Tim. 6:6). It is to be pursued instead of yielding to the cravings of our lusts (1Tim. 6:10-11). It requires a growing knowledge of God's Word that instructs the believer how to be self-controlled that enables them to endure suffering. And godliness can only nurtured when regularly environed in a community of other godly God-adorers.

and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
Second Peter 1:6

Without exception, you can't take it with you when you die except for the exception of your godliness. The extent to which you become godly is the extent to which you will be godly in The Life To Come. This is why the grace of God can save a wayward one on their deathbed, but God's saving grace is best outworked into godliness by receiving Christ very early rather than very late. It takes years of grace to work aspects of the beauty and strength that only years of godliness can produce. No mater what you've done, or who you've done it to, or how many times you've done it, the Altogether Glorious One's limitless love can change your heart, direction and destiny, as He forgives you for eternity.

If you receive His undeserved offer of adoption and begin to realise that you have just become a spiritual trillionaire and heir to an inexhaustible reserve of true riches, the cost of living a godly life in this Temporal Life becomes, in comparison, an infinitesimally small price to pay - and you get to take it all with you into The Life To Come!

Ps. Andrew

US, TOGETHER, WE

It happened just before the Tribulation began. When it did begin, tens of thousands of Christians were brutally martyred. But it wasn't the attack from outside the Church that would be the cause of the greatest devastation. What made this devastation so glaring was the contrast between how the original local church was characterised compared with its condition just before the Tribulation began. This crisis in Jerusalem produced a dramatic response of Biblical proportions that literally averted an eternal catastrophe!

And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need..
Acts 2:44-45

The church in Jerusalem is like a lot of Christians. It started out in a blaze of glory. Its conversion was marked by a dramatic turn of events. The Holy Spirit came upon them and turned their lives around - they came alive spiritually. They experienced the supernatural - prayers were instantly answered. This first local church loved to meet together - as often as they could. In fact, they saw their meeting together as a powerful evangelistic witness - and it worked: the Lord added 'daily' to their number those who were being saved. They loved to spend time in God's Word - alone, but especially together (Acts 2:42). They loved to pray - and most especially loved to pray together. They loved to eat - but it wasn't about the food, it was about the time together with others over the meal. When they saw a need, they all chipped in gladly and sacrificially. They were all givers. But then something tragic began to happen that reversed nearly all that had begun.

I suspect the sad change coincided as the next generation emerged. They had heard their parents talk about the supernatural fire, the wind from heaven, the miracles, the preaching that led 3,000 people to immediately turn to Christ. They heard what happened then but never really heard what should be happening now - which was not what happened then. They stopped loving God's Word. They stopped meeting together as regularly as they used to and thus the power derived from their worship, prayer, instruction together began to wane. They stopped giving - and coincidently, they had less. Their less provoked the Apostle to the Gentiles to take up an offering among the Asian churches for these believers in Jerusalem. 

For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem ... that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints
Romans 15:26, 31

It often happens. People once converted to Christ delight in the joy of their new birth and experience the thrill of spiritual ecstasy that can only come from receiving the Father's forgiveness. The early days of their newly converted life are marked by enthusiasm for fellowship, prayer, worship, teaching, witnessing, generosity, hospitality - together. But then the Enemy musters his reserves and begins to wage his war of distraction. He rarely launches a full-on assault (except where he knows that this is all it all it will take to distract some). He has injuriously learned by experience that when The Blood-Bought suffer greatly they supplicate greatly to their Limitlessly Loving Saviour - and are ironically strengthened against him. He has found that true believers become stronger believers as a result of suffering. But he is ever on the lookout for those who claim to be believers yet look to get out of their suffering (rather than the true believer who looks to what they can get out of their suffering). Accordingly, he is compelled by pragmatism to modify his strategy against most of the true believers by using degrees of ordinariness to work his insidious goal of compromise. He uses the ordinary distractions of life to lure the believer back from being fully devoted to their Soul's Delight. 

Parents can be lured back by the distraction of their children. Men can be lured back by the distraction of a woman. Businessmen can be lured back by the distraction of finances. Girls can be lured back by the attention of a boy. Pastors can be lured back by the seductive satisfaction of busyness. The weary can be lured back by the wooing of amusement. However it happened, it worked. The first indication of the early success of his mission to lure the believer back was their increasing isolation from the church community. This is what began to happen in the Jerusalem Church in the first century. The Apostle Peter gave the early believers a solemn warning about how the Enemy attempts to prey on the isolated sheep like a like picking off the stragglers.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. First Peter 5:8

What established the First Church, their "one another"ness, their togetherness, their "in one accord"ness, which put fuel on the fires of their devotion to Christ through prayer, worship, teaching, fellowship, and evangelism, predictably waned as they were duped by the ordinary distractions of the Enemy. With most of the damage done by around 63AD, there remained only the serious true believers who refused to isolate themselves or compromise their devotion to Christ. The Enemy knew that his pathetic splinters of ordinariness could not distract these devoted ones. He discovered that the seeds of legalism sown years before were now getting some traction and robbing the believers of their delight in God. But still they gathered. Still they prayed. Still they searched the Scriptures. There was only one thing left for the Enemy to do. And it began in 64AD. But before it began the Seated Sovereign One breathed His fiery Word into the soul of an unnamed servant of Christ - and the Epistle to these Hebrews was written.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
Hebrews 1:1-3

Jesus reminded the Jerusalem believers that devotion to Him was not a matter of mere religious devotion - as if religious ceremonies and rituals were ever the basis of drawing God and man together! "Together". That's the fruit of a soul devoted to God. The believer who is transformed from death to life by the radiance of Christ is drawn to the God who is eternally together. As we dramatically see in Acts 2, the result is that person who prizes "me", "I", "my" begins to extol "you", "us", "our". When Jesus taught people to pray it may be missed by most that the first word of this model prayer for His followers is, "Our..." 

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
...Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.  Never be wise in your own sight.
Romans 12:10, 16

Devotion to Christ is always evidenced by one-anotherness. And the Enemy knows it well! His primary strategy to undermine the believer's devotion to Christ is predictably simple: separate and isolate them from other believers. He will commonly use distractions, weariness, and offence to disconnect a believer from those whom God has ordained for His grace to be transmitted to them through. Thus, after the nameless writer to these Hebrews has finished explaining how everything in the ceremonial law was a shadow and type of Christ and His atoning work, he then pastorally conveys not only The Sovereign One's word for them - but the Sovereign One's heart for them. In a burst of three of the most pastoral and important verses in the New Testament The Sovereign One's servant uses all three words that the Holy Spirit loves to shape the believer with: us, together, we. If you get the chance, take a few minutes to hear and consider what our Sovereign Father is saying sweetly to His children.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
¶ For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Hebrews 10:24-26

If you feel dry, then maybe it's time to come back to the well. If you feel less love for God, then maybe it's time to love being together more. If aspects of your life are getting too difficult, then you might have an "I" problem that needs a "we" solution. If you have neglected your daily time in God's Word, then it's little wonder that devotion to Christ no longer enthralls and satisfies you. If you have stopped taking time to surrender in prayer daily and to intercede for others, then it's going to be difficult for you to motivated to join your brothers and sisters in weekly prayer.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12

The Epistle to the Hebrews was delivered to the Jerusalem Church around 63AD. In 64AD all Hell broke loose. Caesar Nero began to wage a war against the Church that led to tens of thousands of Christ followers being brutally martyred. Two years after this war began, Nero ordered that Jerusalem be destroyed. By 70AD this mission was accomplished and the Church in Jerusalem was no more. But the blood of the martyrs has become the seeds of the Church that has sprouted and spread around the world and down through the ages to the present day. And if we can impart a passion, love and devotion for The Radiance of God to the next generation, then we will see what God can do through us as as the Church celebrates being together.

Ps. Andrew

ABOUT MY GARDEN

I have always loved nice gardens. Don't tell anyone, but as a young boy I enjoyed looking through House & Garden magazines to look at some of the best home gardens anywhere in Australia. I actually enjoyed mowing grass (and still do) in the hope that I can coax it into becoming a lawn. I dreamt of one day having the privilege of owning my home surrounded by well planned and maintained gardens. I'm on my way to fufilling that dream. And the journey is very pleasurable. Every week I work on my garden - planting new plants, pruning existing ones, watering, mowing, trimming, chain-sawing. But recently when my health was under siege I wasn't able to maintain my usual gardening regime and something curious happened that has too many parallels with life generally.

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Genesis 2:8

After God created, it seems that the first thing He did was to go gardening. After He created Adam, He gave him a job: gardening Eden. Estimates vary, and we can only speculate, about how big Eden was. For most of us, when we hear the word "garden" we think of an area about the size of our home gardens. But Eden was a public garden. Some scholars believe it was several hundred square kilometres in size. We might be better to think of it as a "Botanical Garden" or "Parkland". It's easy to see how Adam would have been kept busy tending to the gardens within Eden in this light! God must have thought that gardening was a noble activity. And I suspect He still does.

But when Adam sinned and fell from his status of perfection and thereby fell into God's grace, the entire nature of gardening was changed by two dramatic factors. Firstly, God's supernatural prevention of weeds was lifted. Secondly, God's supernatural sustaining of mankind's health and life was also lifted. This meant that Adam's job of gardening from that point on was now going to involve toil because of cursed weeds and his newly discovered bothersome physical discomfort and pain.

¶ And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8

To think that the Garden of Eden was just about shrubs, trees, watering, and pathways, is the same error as thinking that communication is just about words. The Garden of Eden was the place where God chose to fellowship with man. Gardens are great place for strolling, talking, and renewing. I wonder if God showed Eden to Adam to inspire him about what the whole earth could look like? For all the battles we are having with Global Warming, the original intention for earth as a managed garden is now perhaps more than just a nice idea. It's worth noting that the Sahara and Gobe Deserts are many many times larger than they were due entirely to deforestation and are growing rapidly each year due to a failure to reforest. If they were reforested, they would provide more than enough food to feed the starving of the world, and capture much of the carbon emissions suspected of causing Global Warming. 

Eden. A simple Garden. God's "simple", though, is mankind's infinite fascination. Like many things in life such as a good novel, a well directed movie, a Da Vinci painting, a woman, there is more than meets the eye. What meets the eye about Eden is its beauty, tranquillity, colours and sounds. What meets the eye of reflection is its arrangement of complementary groups of plant varieties - the ferns are together near the running water, the tomatoes are near the marigolds, the deciduous trees are positioned to provide maximal sun screening during summer, and the fruit trees all have their fruit accessible for a person standing on the ground. What meets the deeply reflective eye is that the Garden is a metophor for life itself. And this point brings us to my own garden.

"The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible:
The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden.
If you don't want paradise, you are not human;
and if you are not human, you don't have a soul." -Thomas More 

My momentary lapse of good health prevented me from doing my regular gardening. While passers-by would not have noticed, I did. And this is what I saw all through my front lawn-

These cute little daisy-like white flowers were all through my front lawn. But the cute little white daisy-like flowers are just a sinister cover for their dastardly deception. "Bellis Perennis" or "Bruisewort" has a root system which causes it to spread quickly through a lawn - underground. Its cute little daisy flowers disguise its real motive: kill your lawn and take over where once you had grass. My brief lapse in gardening now means that I have a huge job ahead of me.

   

¶ "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.
John 15:1 NLT

Jesus described His Father as the Gardener (John 15:1). In the same passage, He describes us as being His Father's garden (John 15:4). Gardens were close to the Carpenter's heart. In Jesus' darkest hour, He went to a Garden to be with His Father (Luke 18:1). When Jesus died, He chose to be buried in a Garden (Jn. 19:41). Because we are a spiritual 'garden', we can learn from natural gardens and what's involved in making them healthy. 

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
Hebrews 12:15

Our lives are a garden. What we sow in our life-garden we will also reap (Gal. 6:7). In order for the ornamental plants in our soul-garden to be beautified and fragrant, they must be pruned and shaped (Jn. 15:4). We must also take care to keep our heart-garden free from weeds (especially the weed of bitterness and offense (Heb. 12:15). And what every good garden needs most is regular attention. At the end of each day I am now spending time pulling out the Bruisewort from my front lawn. I now have empty patches where I once had grass. Of course, I can't just pull weeds out and leave my lawn area bare in the hope that grass will grow there. In the same way, I can't stop one bad habit (like wasting too much time online) in the mere hope that a good habit (like reading the Scriptures daily) will automatically replace it. 

He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man."
Matthew 13:37

Gardens can teach us much about the life God wants for us. My garden teaches me that my life can become whatever I am prepared to plant in it. What are you intentionally (or perhaps unintentionally) sowing and planting in your life? My life can grow into the life God wants me to live if I am prepared to let The Gardener prune me and put smelly fertilizer around my life. Of course, The Gardener leaves much of the weeding needed in my life up to me. The same principles apply to our church. Our church is what it is because many people have sown into it and been involved in its planting. It will be what it will be because of what we sow and plant in it now. You can enjoy much fruit from your life in the years to come if you garden well, not just today, but everyday. This is what my garden reminds me of.

And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"
Luke 13:8-9

Ps. Andrew

The Hounds of Heaven By Francis Thompson

WALKING BETTER THAN ENOCH

Enoch has two great claims to fame by most people's reckoning. But I'd like to point out a third. It's well known that he was the father of Methuselah, the oldest man to have ever lived. The second claim to Enoch's fame is also well known - he didn't 'die'. But there's a third thing which Enoch should be most admired for: how he walked.

¶ When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
Genesis 5:21-22

I'd like to imagine that Enoch literally went walking as he spent time with God. Perhaps he left camp as dusk came and began to talk with Lord for hour upon hour. It is Enoch who lays the foundation for what it means to walk with God. Hour upon hour. Day after day. Year after year. Enoch walked with the God whom he was drawn to and loved to spend time with. He knew something about God that most of us don't. He discovered that walking works a kind a 'magic' between two people. When you walk with someone for some time, you talk. Initially you talk politely, as you should. Weather, work, wonderings, get discussed and clear the way for deeper issues of the heart - delights, desires, dreams. Enoch traveled far and talked deeply. "Enoch walked with God."

It seems that our first parents were created to walk with God. In the beginning, they walked each late afternoon with their Maker. It seems that we are created to follow in our first-parents footsteps and to also walk with God.

¶ And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8

But the tragedy of the Genesis 3 verse which gives us this beautiful insight into mankind's original intimacy with God is that in this instance mankind did not want to walk with God. Instead, they hid. They didn't walk with God because their fellowship with Him was now broken. How we walk with another is a measure of our fellowship with them. If two people were to walk together and not talk to each other, it would surely be an indication that there is a problem. And at the very least it would indicate that the problem was a lack of trust. After all, one is hardly likely to share their heart with someone they cannot trust! 

As Christians we have the joy of being invited to walk with God. As we walk with God we talk with God - not just toGod.

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on roses
And the voice I hear falling
On my ear the son of God discloses
And He walks with me and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
Merle Haggard - He Walks With Me

And in this light, Paul writes to the Colossians and asks them three times to spiritually walk. The first of these is in the opening chapter where he asks them to walk with God in a worthy manner. This kind of walking, he prays for them, comes from knowing God's will which comes knowing and understanding God's Word. This is why coming together each Sunday as the church where the Word of God is taught and explained is so vital to enabling a Christian to walk with God in a manner worthy of the Lord. 

¶ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:9-10

The second summons from the Apostle to the Colossians to walk with God is in second chapter where links their spiritual foundations to their walk with God. Just as a knowledge of God's Word is needed to walk well with God, it all starts by having a proper foundation of repentance and faith in Christ. 

¶ Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7

The reason someone becomes a follower of Christ will often determine how they follow Christ. If a person was told that in order to go to heaven they must pray a prayer inviting Jesus into their heart, they have a very shallow foundation for their walk with God. To be sure, "inviting Jesus into your heart" (and other non-Biblical ways of describing salvation) does have the benefit of heaven for eternity. But this is not the point of salvation. Would you want to spend eternity in heaven if Jesus wasn't there? The best foundation for walking with God is to realise our true condition before Him and that despite our repulsive state, God still reached out to us in limitless love by sending His only eternal Son to bear our deserved penalties and die in our place and utterly atone for all our guilt and shame. With this realisation we accept God's offer of forgiveness and His gifts of faith and repentance which enable us to put our trust in Christ as our Saviour. This realisation isn't built on an expensive Christian band playing their hit songs during a mega lighting extravaganza in a vast stadium filled with a sea of people. Rather this realisation is an internal transaction that takes place within a person's soul and causes them to adore Jesus. 

'When a man admires himself he never adores God.' 
Charles Haddon Spurgeon

And Paul's final injunction to the Colossians to walk with God is in his closing chapter. To walk with God must be done in full sight of 'outsiders'. This requires wisdom and focus. It requires focus because this world of outsiders is a world of distractions and divided interests. Those outside of God's Kingdom of devoted followers will do all they can to delay the follower of Christ from walking in step with God. The believer is to therefore not only walk with God wisely before the world, but to also not waste their time with distractions and actually create opportunities to invite outsiders to become insiders.

¶ Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
Colossians 4:5

It is Enoch who introduces our fallen world into a glimpse of what it means to walk with God. To walk with God is to talk with God. To talk openly with God is to trust God. For Enoch, walking with God was entirely delightful and pleasurable. It might be easy for the modern reader to think that this Middle Eastern nomad had plenty of time and a fairly simple lifestyle that made it conducive to walking with God. But in returning to Genesis 5 we notice that after he had Methuselah he had many other sons and daughters. He was a father who had to care for his wife and children by providing food for his large family. Preparing an evening meal would not have been a simple exercise - like it generally is for us today. In fact, the hunting, catching, carrying, butchering, cooking, process would have been a long and tedious daily drama. In the midst of being a husband and father with all this demands on his time, Enoch walked with God!

"Not many of us get on really well with God. We may not actually quarrel with Him; we maintain an attitude of benevolent neutrality; or we dwell in His presence in sullen silence. I have often thought that the most amazing biography ever written is the inspired record concerning Enoch. He walked with God! 

No life-story could be more brief; none more exquisitely perfect. There is no superfluous word; you can take nothing from it; add a word and you spoil it. He walked with God and He was not, for God took him. It is Life as it should be: an intimate and harmonious companionship. It is Death as it should be: a swift and painless translation."
Dr. F.W. Boreham, "The Passing of John Broadbanks", 'Gasper's Crag', page 52, 1936 

Today, we have three advantages over Enoch when it comes to walking with God. Firstly, we have the written, revealed, will of God which sets forth plainly His plan of redemption. Although Enoch received much revelation from God and even wrote it down for generations to come (see Jude 14) he did not know what we know about God and His Son. Secondly, we have the infilling of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament times the Holy Spirit occasionally came upon people for a specific time and purpose. But in these New Testament times the Holy Spirit permanently abides with, in, and on the believer. Enoch did not experience this. And thirdly, we have the gift of the Christ's Church wherein the Apostle told the Colossians they could be taught the Word of God so they could know the will of God. Enoch did not have this. Thus, we should walk with God - not merely as Enoch enjoyed, but in the promise of an even richer, more satisfying walk. Unlike natural walks, this is the kind of walking that spiritually grows our godliness which is the one thing we take with us from this life into eternity. 

for while bodily training (natural walking) is of some value, godliness (spiritual walking) is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
First Timothy 4:8

Ps. Andrew

DEVOTED NOT RELIGIOUS

Toward the end of his life, Dr. Boreham made it his aim to preach and write in such a way that "people could catch a vision of the Saviour." Boreham felt that if people could only but see Jesus for who He really is, "they would have no alternative but to lay their devotion at His feet." (Crago, p. 237) He made it his end-of-life aim to reveal the irresistible beauty of Jesus. He hoped that this would lead more Australians to devote themselves to Christ, rather than be merely more religious.

If a person has never 'seen' Jesus the best they can possibly do is to be religious. Any appeal for devotion to Christ sounds like a call to be more religious. And the last thing most Australians want to be is: more religious. Jesus calls people to not just follow Him, but to be exclusively devoted to Him.

¶ "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Matthew 6:24

To discuss the virtues of a devoted life to Christ without a glimpse of the irresistible beauty of Jesus, is like trying to describe the colour red to a person born blind. Devotion to Christ must start with a revelation vision of Christ. I've been pastoring for over two decades. I've learned the difference between formally religious folk (those who have "made a decision", "given their heart", "prayed the prayer") and those who have actually met The Christ (those whose hearts have been gloriously conquered by the radiant warmth of the light of Christ's face).

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Second Corinthians 4:6

Summon the devoted to greater devotion and their hearts are stirred and they worship (Romans 12:1-3). Summon the religious to greater devotion and their hearts close and they groan (Heb. 13:7). When Jesus began building His Church, this was the immediate result -

All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
¶ And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers..
Acts 1:14, 2:42

They devoted themselves to prayer, teaching, fellowship, and worship. And followers of Christ still do and delight to do so. This is why church is not merely a noun it is a verb. This Christmas we are reminded that the God who deserves devotion gave his Best. Surely this is the essence of devotion? It is the inescapable fruit of the true worshiper because, as we know, a worshiper always becomes like what they worship. 

Devotion not religion please.

Ps. Andrew

I HAVE PROBLEMS

You may think you have problems, but the more I get to know some people, the more I realise how deeply wounded some people are with problems that are beyond them. I have problems, but after spending time with some people whose problems are so deep, so complex, so painful, my own problems pale by comparison. 

Even though I have my own problems, I deal with others' problems. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, "[God] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too." ( 2Cor. 1:4-5) In other words, in the midst of our own problems (which was jail and possible execution) God's enabling comfort has meant that we can comfort others. In God's economy, you always give away what you want.

God has given me a small measure of grace to be able to help people with their problems. It is this same grace that has kept me from being overwhelmed by these problems. And it is only by God's grace that my heart has been enlarged sufficiently so that I care about the people whose problems I try to play a small role in helping. In fact, I know that God has called me to help people with problems. This call effects the way I pray (note Philippians 2:14). I continually ask God to help me to help others. And the more people present me with their sacred spaces by openning more of their hearts to me, the more I become dependent on God for His grace and wisdom to try and help. 

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

INVISIBLE PAIN

Sometimes a person's problem is so painful and complex they don't even know where to begin. But sometimes it is even worse than this. This happens when not only does a person feel the constant reminder of their problem, but they are uncertain as to what it actually is. For those who have seen our Bouncing Back DVD, you'll know that we tell the stories of seven people. One of them, appeared to have their life in perfect order. They had what most thought of as a good home with loving parents, a great education, friends, and even a loving church community in which they could worship God. But, things were not as they appeared to be. It was not a good home. Their home was anything but a safe place. Instead of being protected by their parents, they were abused by them in the worse fashion. So painful were the daily scars inflicted into them that they now live without any memory of their life before the age of 11. The sexual abuse they endured caused them to go numb in several ways. Nearly forty years later and despite a loving marriage and the blessing of children, the numbness is still there. They can never get back what the sexual, physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse robbed them of. And like so many innocent victims of such abuse, they ache and don't fully understand why.

For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
Second Corinthians 2:4

What possible help is available to someone experiencing such intolerable invisible pain? Firstly, a revelation from God of His love and acceptance of them. This limitless love is grounded in God's limitless knowledge of them and everything they've gone through. It was the prayer of the Apostle Paul for the Ephesians who had largely been caught up in cultic worship of the idol-goddess, Artemis, that he asked the Lord that the eyes of their understanding might be opened (Eph. 1:18). It is the understanding of God's pure limitless love that gives a person healing-hope. And based on the great Apostle's prayer for the Ephesians, this kind of understanding can only after prayerful seeking of it. Anyone who scoffs at the power of the love of God to transform the broken into wholeness - is confessing their own lack of inexperience of God's love. 

and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19

Secondarily, inner healing grace from God comes from a demonstration of His love, acceptance, and understanding through His people (1Peter 4:10). This kind of grace most powerfully comes from those who have gone through similar experiences and then experiences God's healing love - wherein we were comforted, we comfort others. 

WHY DIVINE LIMITLESS LOVE HEALS

There are some problems that are so painful, so deep, so complex, that no pill can make the ache go away, no counsel can talk it away, no distraction can forget it, and no drink can drown it. Yet, because many of these problems are invisible, and therefore intensely frustrating, it often causes people to take drastic action - such as defacing themselves with permanent ink or razor blades so that others can begin to get a glimpse of their pain. All of this is not just a cry for help - it is a soul screeching cry for help that often gets confused for rebellion, depression, moodiness, or unfriendliness. The cause of such intense anguish and ache is often a serious violation. For a world that is drunk on the lie that sex is just fun and recreation (unlike the Biblically-informed Christian view that sex is about intimacy grounded in trust, commitment, covenant, and sacrificial love, for the purpose of unique union and fruitfulness with one other person) the fruit of their stupor is often broken and shattered little girls who are almost irrepairably damaged for multiple decades to come, and little boys who not only bear the physical scars of what inevitably happens when their bodies are subjected to unnatural acts, but also the deep sense of betrayal that causes them to perpetually angry (either in rage or depression) and distrustful of all. At the root of problems like this is the confusion over love. The predator tells his victim that this is "love". The child grows up with the distorted belief that the only way they can relate to men is by being sexual - because this is "love". But this is wrong°. Thus, when they hear the sincerely intended news that "God loves you!", we can only imagine how hollow this must sound to them! 

What they need is often what they shun. They crave love. For a season they are intoxicated enough on the lie of the world that love=sex to pursue it. But it only deepens their ache. The Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers to be able to comprehend the love of God. God's love is like no other love. It is pure, unselfish, considerate, sacrificial, extravagant, persistent, unconditional.

may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:18-19

Not many begin to comprehend God's love for them. The rare times when someone in the Bible got a glimpse of God's love for them it universally resulted in them being physically and emotionally overcome. The pain that causes problems for many people is almost instantly resolved when the betrayal, violation, deception, and abuse they received is countered by God's infinite trustworthiness, guardian protection, truthfulness and tender care. This is why divine limitless love heals.

WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?

Not everyone's problems are the result of violations. There are of course financial problems that we get ourselves into - or are placed into. There are relationship problems that confound us. There are health problems that frustrate us. There are problems that are caused by us. There are problems that we didn't invite. Here's what I've learned about problems.

1. All problems are relatively solveable. (There may not be a perfect solution, but there is a workable solution.)
2. Problems nearly always take humility to solve. (The size of the problem is proportional to the humilty required to solve it.)
3. Denial only makes the problems get worse. (True healing always requires truthfulness.)
4. God can always redeem our problems. (If you yield to God, He can make you a stronger better person because of your problem.)
5. Even in the midst of our problems, we can always help others with their problems. (Don't let your problems define who you are!)

What's your problem? We've all got problems (if you haven't got problems then you've got a problem)! God provides His love, His grace, and His comfort, so we can face our problems. He has ordained that His love, His grace, and His comfort be imparted to you through the Body of believers in Christ (1Peter 4:10). The Apostle Paul, writing to the highly problematic Corinthians, left them with this reminder, and I follow suit-

¶ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Second Corinthians 13:14

Ps. Andrew

CIRCUMSTANCES

Stuff happens. We find ourselves in circumstances that we didn't create or invite. As Spirit-filled followers of Christ we know what to do. We use prayer. We pray. We request others to pray. These prayers petition heaven for our circumstances to change. Our circumstances tend to dominate our prayers. But our prayers is not all that our circumstances seek to rule over.

Some people have learned that they can get the attention of others if they sulk and make demands of others through emotional blackmail. Circumstances are nearly always like these self-centred people. Before we go anywhere, do anything, make a decision, spend time with someone, or make plans, our circumstances want the final say. At the risk of offending your circumstances by calling it for what it often becomes: idolatrous, I want to give some shepherd's wisdom for dealing with your circumstances, and how you might adjust your prayer-life. 

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
First Thessalonians 5:18

IF CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT

Too many people honour God when circumstances permit. The attention-starved teenage girl who has gone to church most of her life now finds her circumstances have changed. When she was younger, her Daddy seemed to give her more tender attention. Now that she is older, Daddy doesn't seem to listen or even understand. She meets a crowd of similarly confused teens who seem to give her the attention she craves - on the condition that she conforms to their standards - standards that she knows are not God-honouring. But under these circumstances, it seems like attractive. Perhaps the young man who has graduated and landed a job for a company where corners are continually being cut, and the truth is often halved. Under the circumstances, his career demands that he skip church so that he can put in the extra hours his bosses say will be good for his career. Maybe circumstances help the neglected wife to justify her growing liaison with someone from work who seems to better understand her. In these instances, like a slow-growing noxious weed that chokes out all other plant life, circumstances withdraws its permission for the child of God to act like one. Christians do not honour and obey just when circumstances permit!

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
Ephesians 6:16

The follower of Jesus is committed to following, serving, honouring Christ despite - not because of - whatever circumstances they might be facing. Marriage is a reflection of the ultimate loving commitment shared between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. No matter what the circumstances, God is love and He dwells in an eternal community of limitless love. When a couple marries, their marriage vows are a shadow of the commitment that the God of love enjoys and these vows usually contain the appropriate wording, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. That is, no matter what the circumstances, no matter how difficult, no matter what the obstacle, there is an unshakeable commitment to love. The most important things in life, your peace with God, your relationship with our soul-mate, your privilege of pastoring your children, your commitment to your local community of faith, your level of workplace productivity, should all be acted on despite our circumstances. 

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
Philippians 4:12

UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES?

Nick Vujicic was born with no arms and no legs. Despite this, he has overcome his circumstances to establish a corporation, travel the world, marry, and become a father. Little over a century ago, at just 19 months old, Helen Keller contracted what was suspected to be Scarlet Fever which left her deaf and blind. Through the patience of her teacher Annie Sullivan, Helen learned to read and write. In 1904 she went on to become the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Arts. Despite her circumstances, Helen Keller went on to achieve what can only be considered outstanding success. In 1964, President L. B. Johnson awarded her The Presidential Medal of Freedom. Neither Nick nor Helen allowed their circumstances to be the thing that determined what they could or couldn't do, and, who they could or couldn't be.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL PRAYER

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12

How should we pray when our circumstances become intolerable? A brief study of the New Testament reveals that when circumstances were unfavourable for those characters in the New Testament they prayed. But what stands out about the way they prayed is that they prayed for the strength to deal with their circumstances - not for their circumstances to change! We could look at our Saviour heading to the Cross and see Him under adverse circumstances praying for the will of God to be done. We could look at the Apostle Paul in prison for preaching the Gospel. Instead of complaining in his Epistles about his "chains" and begging for believers to partner with him in prayer that he might be released, he seems to ask them to continue to pray that God might use him wherever he is!

for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:20
for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!
Second Timothy 2:9

Most of Paul's Epistles to believers were actually written while he was in prison. Rather than let these circumstances dominate his prayer-life or limit his ability to be used by God, he chose to bloom where he was planted. Have you let your circumstances - your health, your finances, your work, your relationships - be at the forefront of your prayers? Have your circumstances been the defining agent of what you can or can't achieve? Do your circumstances tell you that change in your life is not possible? It's time to stop living "under the circumstances" and to start living the kind of life where you draw on God's grace to not only get you through, but to help you to be fruitful in the midst of it. Bloom where you are planted - despite your circumstances!

Ps. Andrew

KEN'S MANTRA

FIRST, SEEK THIS

Ken lived in the corporate world. Business meetings, interstate trips, spreadsheets, balance sheets, and long hours - very long hours. Ken's family though were paying a price for his high income. In the helter-skelter of his hectic lifestyle, Ken didn't quite make it to church with his family as often as he knew he should, until one surprising Sunday. It would be wrong to think that he got it right everytime from that day, he still had one more hard lesson to learn.

¶ "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
Matthew 6:25 

Ken justified his high-powered work-life by telling himself, and his wife and children, that he was "doing it for them." Being a Christian, he even justified his spiritual irresponsibility to God with all the predictable excuses. But then that day came. It was a Sunday. Ken went with his family to church that Sunday. He used to take them to church before he rose up the dizzing heights of the corporate ladder. It wasn't what was said, taught, or preached that Sunday - but it was what Ken heard that wrought the change. 

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Matthew 6:27

A SHIFT

Ken was a corporate tax accountant. And he was good at it. He considered himself a sincere and committed Christian. Being in church on this particular Sunday, something in Ken's soul was being strangely stirred. He began to pray. He reconnected with God with some slight hesitation. His Bible was open on his lap at Matthew chapter 6 when he heard God speak softly to his soul. "Get your priorities right" he heard God say. "How?" his heart replied. "God first, family second, work third."

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
Matthew 6:31

God first, Family second, and Work third. This became Ken's new mantra. He realised that to put God first he had to make an adjustment to his daily and Sunday priorities. He committed to read his Bible first thing everyday and attend church with his family every Sunday. This required a change in work patterns because he often brought work home and worked all weekend to get ready for important Monday morning meetings. But no more. Well, nearly no more as I'll explain shortly. 

¶ "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Matthew 6:34 The Message

T-BALL, SORRY

Ken's new mantra of priorities was soon tested. He had a client that had just been told they were going to receive a snap Tax Audit first thing Monday. They needed Ken to prepare the books which meant he would have to work this particular weekend. But he had already made a commitment to his young son that this Saturday morning he would take him to his T-ball game and watch him play. He tried to explain to his son why he couldn't go to his game. His disappointed son left for his uneventful match. Meanwhile, Ken tried to work on his client's books all that morning but couldn't make any significant progress. Sighing in frustration he heard, "God first, Family second, Work third." "God, are You saying that if I'd put my family before work and gone to my son's T-ball game, I would have this problem solved?" Ken knew the answer and left his work to try and catch the dying the minutes of his son's game. He then took his son out for a special father and son lunch. Later that day he rang his client on the other side of the country and apologised that he wouldn't be able to get their books done in time. They were extremely disappointed and threatened to take their business elsewhere. But Monday morning Ken received a call from the client. They told him that the Tax Office had just contacted them and told them their Tax Audit would be delayed by a week. They asked Ken to continue his work for them. After that call, Ken whispered yet another prayer to God, this time apologising and confessing his failure to get his priorities right. He remembered the verse from Matthew 6 that stood out to him that Sunday from his Bible on his lap-

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

Ken came to realise that time with his family in church as they worshipped together was one of the greatest ways he could lead his wife and children. Rather than keep him from getting things done either at work or at home, Ken found that God seemed to honour him for putting Him first and his family second.

A SUDDEN END

Ken had learned some valuable lessons. He changed his priorities. He became involved in his local church. His fears that his new priorities would harm his business become unfounded. In fact, he told people that he now felt the blessing of God on his life and business and that time in church was time sown into God (and you always reap what you sow - which is good news for gardeners and those who feel they don't have enough time to maintain their homes). He began to receive invitations from other churches to share his story. He shared his simple list of priorities- God first, Family second, and Work third - and thousands of business people adopted his mantra and changed their priorities. He began receiving testimonies from people all over the world telling him that he had given them the courage to put God first, their Family second and their work third. 

Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Matthew 6:33 The Message

I was a teenager when I first heard Ken. His story was inspiring and impressive. His priority-mantra was contagious. I have tried to emulate it. To my shame, I have not always kept it. But it is my goal. 

I was stunned to hear some time ago that Ken had suddenly died. Even though he didn't know it, his life would soon be over. He lived out his last days putting God first, his Family second and his Work third. Life's brevity and lack of guarantees has a way of highlighting a person's poor priorities. But Ken was fortunate because it wasn't a health scare that shocked him into reorganising his priorities - it was the Word of God. And it is from the Word of God that we find that Ken's list of priorities didn't originate with him.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33 NLT

Ps. Andrew