120. A Tribute. The Rev Thomas John Jewett. Australian Pastor-Teacher. 1927- 2013.

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

“He WAS my bishop!” These were the opening words as the preacher began his sermon. The occasion was the Thanksgiving service for the late Tom Jewett in the Anglican church in Devonport Tasmania. ( A summary of Tom’s ministry as Director of Teen Challenge in Sydney, Director of the London Healing Mission in the UK and as founder, with his wife Anne, of Isaiah 61 Ministries can be found on his website http://www.tomjewett.com.au/about.html ). I had just spoken at the service and paid tribute to Tom’s ministry as I had experienced it. I had made the remark that Tom would have made a great bishop in the church.

The preacher had taken hold of my words and was expressing his gratitude to God that Tom had indeed mentored and encouraged him in his ministry over many years, as bishops are meant to do. I was to learn a little later in the service that there were many ministers in a number of different denominations around the world who indeed had looked to Tom for spiritual and practical help for their ministries. He had indeed fulfilled the requirements for a bishop as I had outlined them in my tribute.
Firstly, as we see above, he was a pastor to the pastors. His counsel and encouragement were known and appreciated by pastors in Australia, Great Britain and in many parts of Europe.
Secondly, he was a pastor to the people. People flocked to attend his Seminars on Healing in Australia and overseas. They came from a wide variety of backgrounds. I would see well-known medical specialists and others in the Health professions in these gatherings. There would also be full-time Christian workers, and those from business and legal professions. Joining them would be people from affluent backgrounds, and those from very, very humble circumstances. They all came with an openness to hear from God through Tom and to be ministered to by Tom and his wife Anne after his talks. Very often they would pray with people for hours after the meeting, so concerned were they to ensure no one would miss out on what God wanted to do through them for those present.
Thirdly, he was a great administrator. Experienced business folk marvelled at his ability to see the whole situation quickly and comprehensively as he chaired meetings. That ability was seen in the secular world as well. Tom worked on major projects for Tasmanian and Federal Government agencies. Can you imagine a Motel being constructed in 6 weeks, in time for the Queen’s visit to Hobart? If Tom was supervising the work it could have been. Indeed it was! He supervised the building of the six upper floors at the same time as he was supervising the furnishing of the lower floors! Shopping Centres and other notable buildings came into being under his supervision. The same careful control and care marked his leadership of Christian organisations.
As part of my tribute I asked the congregation to imagine the situation if Tom had ever been appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury. There was widespread laughter! They laughed, not because it was so unlikely, but because they knew that Tom would have done things differently. He would never have tolerated anything that was heretical in the church. As someone who loved the church of God he would have done all in his power to ensure that false shepherds did not come in to spoil the flock. Lambeth Conferences when the Bishops of the world-wide Anglican Communion meet, would have been quite different if Tom had been doing the inviting and the programming!
So as we gathered in the beautiful St John’s Anglican Church in Devonport Tasmania to celebrate Tom’s life and ministry we were sad to know that we would not see him any more in this life. But there were lots of smiles and plenty of laughter as we recalled together the life of a man who loved his wife and family, who loved his church and served it so faithfully for several decades of ministry. Moreover, he left us a wonderful example of a pastor who loved and served His Lord throughout his life. What Paul wrote to Philemon could easily have been written to Tom Jewett, Phm 1:7, For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Together with thousands of folk around the world we assure Anne and Alexander and Victoria of our gratitude to them for sharing Tom with us. We also assure them of our ongoing love as we continue to support them in our prayers.
Blog No. 120. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Friday 17th May 2013.

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119. Same-Sex Marriage and God’s plan in Genesis 2:24

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

There appears to be a shift towards the acceptance of the concept of same-sex marriage. I say “appears” because of the dubious nature of the research involved in various studies. However many prominent people have shared that they have recently changed their minds and are now in favour of same-sex marriage. Their comments focus on three major reasons for a change in their thinking.

The first reason is that people want to be fair. Few people want to see others being deprived of what they think should rightfully belong to them. So there is a stress on justice and equal rights. There is a strong sense of this in nations like Australia where an underlying characteristic is that everyone should give others “a fair go”.  It is a good attribute provided that what they want to have “a go at” is legal and beneficial. But we live in a world where God has given His creatures free-will. That does not mean licence to do whatever one wishes, but freedom to do or to refuse to do what God sees as best for His creatures. This involves both privileges and responsibilities. We have the privilege of being sexual beings. But there comes with that privilege, the responsibility to ensure that any sexual activity is to be carried out in the relationship He has endorsed, namely between a man and a woman in marriage. In God’s sight, chastity is the only other option. It might sound an impossible option to live by, but millions in every generation have done so. Many by seeking God’s help.

A second reason is that with more “outings” taking place people among prominent celebrities, some family members or personal friends have also been encouraged to “come out” as being gay. It is a very difficult thing to look at those close to us living in what appears to be a loving same-sex relationship and see that there is anything wrong with such a relationship. As one writer put it, when we are faced with beloved family members or close friends declaring themselves gay, out goes theology with its belief that God has spoken His mind about sex in declaring that only in a loving husband–wife relationship is it acceptable in His sight. One’s theology is overcome by a deep desire to maintain those close relationships and not to pass judgment on their personal activities. (Or by the temptation to twist one’s theology to cater for recent personal circumstances). That is perfectly understandable. Who would ever want to drive a wedge between ourselves and those whom we love? But in such cases we are faced with a choice. Either to go by what God has said in His eternal word or to disagree with what He has said. To reject His commandments is a breach of love towards God. To water down God’s commandments in order to maintain our friendships is not an act of love towards our loved ones. It is misplaced loyalty. His commandments can’t be watered down. What we can do is to love all people by seeking their best interests whilst disagreeing with the forms of sexual activity of some of them.

Some months ago a very loving, gracious Christian woman asked to share a deep concern with me. It turned out that her daughter had declared herself to be gay and was now living in a lesbian relationship. Some of the woman’s friends had expressed to her their sadness at what had happened. Others had suggested that she should think about closing her home to her daughter and her new friend. The woman asked me what her response should be. I suggested to her the following.  I reminded her that she had an unique relationship with her daughter. She was the only mother her daughter would ever have.  Nothing could change that. Christian love demanded that she continue to love her daughter by seeking her best interests. That meant being always available to her daughter when her daughter wanted contact or whenever she was in need. It meant keeping her heart and her home open to her daughter.  But Christian love also demanded that she not consider the lesbian relationship as blessed by God especially in the light of Bible teaching that He saw such relationships as contrary to His will. Nevertheless she could love the daughter’s partner by seeking her best interests. It was not condoning the relationship but loving both partners in spite of the relationship. The woman told me later that she had come to experience a real love for her daughter’s partner who meant so much to her daughter and who was not trying to turn the daughter against her mother.  The mother had come to know real peace in loving both parties in the relationship. But she still held to Bible teaching that such a relationship was contrary to the will of God. She had begun to pray that both her daughter and her partner might discover and walk in the will of God for them. In the words of the Lord’s Prayer she was humbly praying that God’s kingdom might come and His will be done in their lives as well as in her own.

A third reason why there appears to be a shift in the attitude towards same-sex marriage is that some gay advocates have been extremely successful in selling the concept that “being gay is normal”. Others go further and suggest that gays are born that way having a gay gene. There appears to be no medical evidence for such a concept. On the other hand there are thousands of those who once embraced the gay lifestyle believing they were gay, who have turned their backs on that lifestyle and embraced heterosexual marriage. Others have chosen chastity until they meet a life-partner of the opposite sex. The trouble is that evidence to show this change is usually ignored or suppressed. Those who seek to give testimony as to the change in their sexual orientation are often shouted down or persecuted. In recent days there has been a disturbing trend towards silencing those who have asked for and received counselling to be successfully set free from their homosexual life-styles. Their vocal opponents believe it is not possible to change, so they feel they must silence those who say they were changed.  Because of this some have coined a new word “homo-fascist” to describe those who seek as one writer put it, to demonize, marginalize, and silence any criticism of or opposition to homosexual acts. It is sad that such terms as homophobe and homofascist have come into our vocabulary. Sad too that we can’t listen to each other without calling each other names or trying to ridicule or silence each other’s views.

As we discuss this whole topic we must never forget that the Creator who created all things and all people knows everything about human nature and what makes us what we are. He has revealed His will about sex and family life. He still declares same-sex activity as abhorrent in His sight. My very deep concern in all this lies in the fact that marriage and family life have always been the mainstay of society (even though some families have not been open to His guidance and love). Any attempt to overturn God’s plan for His world by redefining marriage to be something it was never meant to be, will have disastrous consequences. It will open the way to a push to have other sorts of relationships recognised which are far removed from the plan of God. In Australia we already have those who are pushing for relationships such as polyamory (the practice of having more than one open romantic relationship at a time). It could even lead to anarchy when people who have turned their backs on God and His laws and human laws based on His laws, feel no responsibility towards anyone else. They live only for themselves using others for their own advantage.  This is the very antithesis of marriage as God planned it where a man and a woman come together in love in marriage and bring up their children in safety, security and in self-giving love. Marriage cannot be redefined. If it is, the cohesion of society will be damaged beyond repair. It will need a later generation to recognise they are creatures of a Creator and submit to His will in all things, especially marriage and family life as He intended.

Blog No.119. Jim Holbeck. Posted Sunday 14th April 2013.

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118. US SUPREME COURT AND REDEFINING MARRIAGE. Decision? Division? Treason?

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

What should the US Supreme Court decide on the possibility of redefining marriage? One answer is really simple. They should decide not to make a decision. One reason expressed is that they are not qualified to do so. Marriage is a “given” in its present form. As I wrote in my previous article, marriage is a given from the Creator Himself. It has the formula “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” Gen 2:24. It was given by God the Creator for the benefit of His creatures. It is His only pattern for marriage. It cannot be “extended” to those of the same sex because that would be contrary to the Creator’s expressed will regarding Marriage. His view of marriage is permanent because He alone is permanent. People with various opinions may come and go but His precepts are eternal. No matter what humans may decide, His will for marriage remains the same. He does not adapt His will to meet the vicissitudes of changing cultures. Rather those in changing cultures are meant to get into line with His declared will for humankind revealed in the Bible. 

Another answer is that the Supreme Court should defend Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. This states, Section 3. Definition of marriage. In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. Regardless of any other decisions the Supreme Court may make, that definition of marriage should remain the basis for American and every other society. Any other relationship cannot be described as marriage by this definition.

We have to live with the “givens” of life. For example there is a defined unit of measurement called a “metre” or “meter” in the USA. Humans didn’t just pluck the measurement out of the air. Rather they came to that measurement by observing the measurements of our given world, and decided that a certain length, a certain proportion of the earth’s measurements, should be one metre. But I have a problem with the given metre length. It rules me out of gaining the Gold Medal for the 100 metres sprint at the next Olympics. The metre in its present prescribed length discriminates against older folk like myself. I certainly could not beat Bolt or the next bolter while a metre remains one metre long. However if the definition was changed so that for me alone it now measured 10 metres, I might have a chance of getting the Gold Medal. You’ve done the Maths. I would only have to run 10 metres in the race! Everyone else has to run the full 100 metres! Some unkind folk might object to this special allowance being given to me alone. They would argue that the definition of a metre can’t be changed. It must always remain the same length.  They would be right!  But it is the same thing with God’s definition of marriage. It’s a given. It can only be used for the relationship of a man and the woman who becomes his wife. His pattern for marriage is unalterable.

Division. If the US Supreme Court were to decide to redefine marriage so that is no longer just between a man and a woman it would be contrary to the Creator’s wishes and plan for His creatures. It would certainly cause a division. Most of those who hold to the Biblical view of marriage will never change their minds about the nature of marriage to accommodate other views. In their minds God has set the pattern for marriage. They will accept no other pattern. They will not tamper with God’s revelation of His will in His word about marriage to fit in with changing cultural patterns. Division would be regrettable but inevitable.

Another factor needs to be kept in mind. It is the possible danger that could come to millions of people around the world if the definition of marriage is changed to include same sex couples. There are those in other religions and in other cultures for whom the thought of “gay marriage” is anathema. If the US Supreme Court does decide that marriage can be extended to same sex couples it could cause an even greater hardening of people towards Americans. In some cultures the USA is already seen as “The Great Satan” because of the perception that it is corrupt and immoral. Certainly many in other countries who have become aware of American produced films and TV productions think they have reason to believe Americans are immoral. When you think of the many shows which depict people in authority in the United States such as parliamentarians, police personnel and military as being immoral and corrupt it is no wonder that some in other countries think that is a true picture of America as a whole. They are certainly encouraged strongly to believe so. So if a US Supreme Court as the highest legal authority in the land were to come out in favour of something that these people see as anathema, it would give the leaders in such lands and cultures incentives to really poison the minds of those who don’t know better. It could help to incite even greater hatred towards Americans at home and abroad. It could make it extremely dangerous for American nationals living in such places. It could make it even more dangerous for Christian and Jewish minorities in many lands.  It could be said of them (as those friendly with America) that they are “friends of the Great Satan”. It could place their lives at risk.  This is no idle speculation. This is reality in today’s world in many countries.

Treason? Someone said recently that it could be a treasonable offence if the US Supreme Court were to come out in favour of extending the definition of marriage to include Gay Marriage. They reasoned that if such a decision led to the deaths of Americans and others in the USA and beyond, the judges would be culpable. It sounds a bit dramatic. After all they are only doing their job! In the USA treason is defined as follows in the Constitution. Section 3 -. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. There are those in the world who are the enemies of the USA and want to see the destruction of the Great Satan. To give such enemies ammunition to use against Americans (“Look at their Supreme Court. See how immoral and corrupt these Americans are”) and the incentive to destroy them would not fit the definition of treason. However decisions have consequences. There are many astute observers in today’s world who believe that what could be seen as an acceptance of same-sex marriage by America’s highest court could lead to a proliferation of attacks on Americans and others around the globe. One hopes and prays that the nine members of the US Supreme Court can arrive at a decision that doesn’t eventually lead to great bloodshed.

There was a time when another court was considering what to do with those who preached God’s truth. The initial thought of those in the court was to silence those with whom they disagreed by killing them.  The messengers were Peter and the apostles. Their motivation in preaching the truth they preached was, “We must obey God rather than men”. However a very wise man named Gamaliel gave a stern warning to the court.  He said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. …. I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”  Acts 5:38-39. There are millions of people around the world praying that the members of the US Supreme Court will not be found to be opposing God by the decisions they reach.

A final comment. Why is there supposedly a swing towards the acceptance of “same-sex marriage”? There are a number of reasons. But that will be the focus of the next article.

Blog No. 118.   Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 7th April 2013

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117. Divine Comedy 2. God in the Dock regarding Marriage. Genesis 2:24

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

No, this has nothing to do with Dante’s famous classic! Rather it refers to a situation that God has allowed in His divine providence and over-ruling as the Lord of this universe. It is a ludicrous situation. But it is not funny. It has to do with many people around the world attempting to change the definition of “marriage”.

Well, where did the concept of “marriage” come from? It came from the Creator of all things, God Himself! It was His idea! From the beginning! As He created the human race He instigated the concept of marriage. He did so according to the formula He devised. It was this, Gen 2:24  Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. From this union children would be born with a mother and a father and grandparents as well. Marriage could lead to an ongoing increasing family where the children would have loving parents to love and protect them. All in all a wonderful concept that has lasted for aeons, though some have abused their God-given privilege as parents.

But now in 2013 we have the situation where the US Supreme Court is considering a couple of cases which could lead to a re-definition of marriage. Thousands are waiting with bated breath to see what these nine people decide and how their lives might be changed as a result. (Could millions of people’s lives around the world be affected by the decision of nine people? It sounds absolutely crazy, but the answer is yes!) Leaders in other countries are also considering a re-definition of marriage.

If we take a step back to assess what is going on we arrive at this conclusion. It is God Himself who is in the dock. His concept of marriage is under critical scrutiny. His formula that has worked so well for generations is in danger of being tampered with. His thoughts expressed in His revelation to humans about marriage are in the Bible for all to see. To reject His words expressing His concept of marriage is really a rejection of Him. It is serious stuff! It is potentially alarming for generations to come!

Here are the characters in this Divine Comedy 2. The creatures are in revolt against their Creator! Those who owe their existence to Him are in danger of ignoring His words, rejecting His plan and purpose for the world and substituting their own. How pathetic! How short-sighted! How revolting! The Bible says that when people have done that to God in the past, He laughed at their pathetic attempts,  Psa 2:1-12 (1)  Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? (2)  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, (3)  “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” (4)  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Some folk think they are becoming free by rejecting what God has said about marriage. They think they are progressive and inclusive by declaring blessed, other relationships He has strictly forbidden.

But there are others in this Divine Comedy. There are those who see that God is God, that His will must be done, in His way, to His glory. They accept His plan and purpose for humankind especially in seeing that marriage is as He expressed it in Genesis 2 and as Jesus affirmed it in Mat 19:5  ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? And as the apostle Paul affirmed it in Eph 5:31  “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Yet it is these people who are faithful to their Creator God who are at present being castigated as old-fashioned, out of step with modern thinking, unloving and even called homophobic when the opposite is the truth. (See my article on who are the real homophobes.)

In this Divine Comedy 2, God is not laughing at those being thus castigated. He is laughing at those  whom He sees as “the wicked” in His sight, Psa 37:12-15, The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, (13)  but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.(14)  The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright;(15)  their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. God is not mocked, even by those who are advocating a form of marriage that He sees as a mockery in His sight.

Divine Comedy 3. The year 2113. All the characters in Divine Comedy 2 have gone. They have left their mark for good or evil in the world. Only God remains from all in the cast. No matter what the characters managed to do or to change in their lifetimes, (whether it be to help introduce gay marriage, polygamy or even polyamory, meaning open relationships with more than one person at a time) His view on marriage will still be the same, Gen 2:24  Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Job the Old Testament character placed God in the dock to ply Him with all sorts of questions as to why he had suffered when he was such a righteous person. But the time came when God reversed the roles, placed Job in the dock and said in effect, “Now it’s my turn to question you. Just who do you think you are? I’m your creator. You have to answer to me.” Job confronted with his human weakness blurted out before God, Job 42:2  “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3)  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4)  ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ 5)  I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6)  therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Divine Comedy 2 will only end happily for those who humble themselves before God as Job did. We may put God in the dock and question His view on marriage and judge Him (and those who follow Him) as guilty of discrimination. But He has told us as our Creator that He will not “extend” His revealed concept of marriage to any other relationship. As His creatures, dependent on Him for even our next breath, neither should we! The time will come for all of us when He will place us in the dock, not to ascertain our views, but to judge us according to His!

Blog No.117.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Saturday 30th March 2013

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116. THE “ABCDE” OF BECOMING MORE OPEN TO GOD FOR HIS BLESSING. “E” for Enthroning.

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

In the previous article we looked at the need to dethrone any idols we may have in our lives so that we may give the Lord His rightful place as our ruler. The idols need to be dethroned so that the Lord may be enthroned in our hearts. This concept is seen in Psalm 22:3, Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. This gives us a wonderful picture of the nature of worship. God’s people exalt Him as the Holy One in their praises. He sits enthroned on those praises. It reminds us of another passage in the Psalms where God’s people are encouraged to focus on Him in praise and thanksgiving, Psalm 100:4) Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! As the next verse says, such praise is based upon His character, 5) For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

As Christian believers we need to enthrone Jesus as the Lord and Master of our lives.  Why? Because the Father has highly exalted Him. Paul wrote about that in Philippians 2 verses 8-9,  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. What should be our response? It should be to worship Him and to declare Him to be Lord of the universe, and our Lord, Phil 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 Paul not only taught those truths but He also prayed that his readers might know and experience those truths personally. Look at how he prayed in his letter to the Ephesian believers. He prays that they might know and experience the greatness of God’s power that He used in raising Jesus from the dead.   But he went on to remind them of the place that Jesus occupies in the sight of God, Eph 1:19 (I want you to know) what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. One might think that would be sufficient for his readers to want to exalt Jesus in their own lives. But he adds to that in his prayer. He describes Jesus now being,  21  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Jesus is Lord of all, for ever! He rules! In the present and throughout the ages to come!

Paul adds yet another series of concepts in the prayer, 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church. He rules over all. All are subject to Him. God gave the One who is head over all things to be the head of the church.  The church he describes as “the body of Christ”, 23 which is his body. It cannot exist independently of Him.  He indwells and guides and empowers it. The final concept in the prayer stresses that all fulness dwells in Jesus and that He fills all things, the fullness of him who fills all in all. No wonder He is worthy of praise and adoration. Jesus IS Lord but we  need to enthrone Him as Lord in our own lives. He tolerates no rivals.

Summing up, how did you go on the ABCDE we have looked at in these 5 articles?

  • Are you willing to Abide in Jesus and in His word?
  • Are you willing to Believe, to believe the promises of God and to act on them?
  • Are you willing to Consecrate yourself and your body to do the will of God no matter what.
  • Are you willing to Dethrone all the idols in your life, no matter how attractive they might be to you?
  • Are you willing to Enthrone Jesus as Lord of your life?

If you are willing to do all those things then you are becoming more open to receive what God has for you in His plan and purpose for this world.   Theodore Monod put in a hymn what our response might be. He begins the hymn with the words, Oh, the bitter pain and sorrow, That a time could ever be, When I proudly said to Jesus, “All of self, and none of Thee.” The next verse shows some growth. It has the words, “Some of self, and some of Thee.” Then comes the more mature saying “Less of self, and more of Thee.” The final verse has words that show total commitment, “Higher than the highest heaven, Deeper than the deepest sea, Lord, Thy love at last has conquered: ‘None of self, and all of Thee’.”

My prayer. Lord, may it be so in the lives of all Your people. AMEN.

Blog No.116. Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Thursday 14th March 2013

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115. THE “ABCDE” OF BECOMING MORE OPEN TO GOD FOR HIS BLESSING. “D” for Dethroning

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

 In the previous articles we looked at three of the factors involved in becoming more open to God for His blessing and healing. We saw the need to Abide in the Living word, Jesus and in the written word, the Bible. Then we looked at true Believing as an essential element. Following that we saw how we need to Consecrate ourselves to God. As we come to “D” we see the need to Dethrone the idols we may have in our lives to replace them with Jesus.  

 In the well-known hymn by William Cowper, “O for a closer walk with God”,  he has these challenging words, The dearest idol I have known, Whate’er that idol be, Help me to tear it from Thy throne, And worship only Thee. What is an idol? A short definition would be, An idol is anyone or anything that takes the central place of God in our lives. What is idolatry? Idolatry in the Old Testament stood for the worship of idols which were symbols of false gods. It also stood for the worship of symbols representing Yahweh the God of Israel. We see this in Exodus 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them.

Paul adds to this by showing that human desire (covetousness) for the forbidden is idolatrous because it is giving false value to those things or people as necessary for personal fulfilment, Col 3:5  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. It echoes the words in the Decalogue in Exodus 20:17  “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s.” To covet these is forbidden because they belong to other people. Ultimately only God can bring fulfilment to His creatures, not things or other people.

 William Cowper recognised that it was all too easy for believers to allow other things or other people to take the central place that the Lord is meant to have in human lives. As someone once put it, “Whatever takes first place in our affections has become for us our god.” Cowper wanted God’s help in removing all the idols in his life to enable him to worship only God Himself.

It is very worthwhile doing a little inventory in our lives to see whether we have allowed other idols to take the Lord’s place in our affections. What are the gods that have pushed Jesus from the centre of our lives? Let’s do a test of our priorities. Jesus taught that we are to love God with all we are and have, Mar 12:30  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Even love for another person such as one’s neighbour is a lesser priority than loving God, Mar 12:31  ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’

Here is the first test. Regarding people. Do we spend more time thinking about a particular person than we do thinking about God? Why should a fellow creature occupy a greater proportion of our thinking than the Creator Himself.

Possessions. Do we possess our possessions or do they possess us? Are they our security or is God our security. I once came across a family who would not go away for holidays together because the father had a precious plant he could not trust anyone else to care for. The plant took precedence over his God-given responsibility of caring for the needs of his wife and children.

Much of the attraction towards gambling is due to the thought process that the thing being won will bring more personal satisfaction and fulfilment in life. But things don’t satisfy. Only God does.

Position and status. Do we long for honour in the eyes of people or do we long for God’s blessing perhaps even in a position with little status? I remember a Lady Mayoress in an Australian city saying over 50 years ago that many of the women who helped her in charity work were motivated more by the desire to gain recognition by being seen with her, than by a motivation to help those in need. Good work. Wrong motivation!

Time. This is a real test of our priorities. How much time is given to our pursuit of God and how much is given for our own selfish pursuits? How much more time do we spend reading fiction than we do reading the Bible as the inspired word of God which can inspire us to become what we were meant to become?  How much time do we spend talking to others about our problems than we do in talking to God who wants to help us with our problems? And who incidentally can do a whole lot more for us than any human can.

As we do this personal inventory it may be that we begin to see more clearly that we have made idols of things that once were peripheral in our lives. Or we may see that we are becoming infatuated with someone and losing sight of our need to be focussed on the Lord and then on people through His eyes.  Perhaps it may be time for us to do as William Cowper did and to pray, The dearest idol I have known, Whate’er that idol be, Help me to tear it from Thy throne, And worship only Thee.

Dethroning every idol so that we might Enthrone Jesus as Lord of our lives.

Blog No.115.  Jim Holbeck. Posted Tuesday 13th March 2013

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114. THE “ABCDE” OF BECOMING MORE OPEN TO GOD FOR HIS BLESSING. “C” for Consecrating

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

There is a twofold aspect to Christian living. One is that God is at work in us to make us what He wants us to be. The other aspect is our willing response to His work in us so that we are cooperating with what He wants to do in us and through us. Paul expressed it so succinctly in Philippians 2:12-13, … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. The verbs in these verses show the commitment or the consecration needed on our part to enable that to happen. In verse 12 the word for “work out” is  katergázomai which denotes the concentrated effort required to fulfil a task. Eagle eyed folk will spot the “erg” in the middle of the word and recognise immediately that “erg” is the unit of work or energy in physics. The prefix “kata” in the word adds intensity, so what Paul envisages is a “concentrated effort to work out” the implications of the salvation we have received by faith.  

The verbs for “work” and “works” in verse 13 is energeō from which we get our English word “energy”. God is at work in us as believers. Our response is to work out in practice what He is inwardly working within us. We are to energetically work out through our lives what He is inwardly motivating and energising us to be and to do.

Let us look at a couple of ways in which that commitment might work out practically, or how we might be personally consecrated to do the will of God. But first of all a few comments on what is meant by consecration. We see the theme of personal consecration or commitment to God in the words of the well-known hymn by Frances Havergal, Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. In the hymn the worshippers offer themselves completely to God in these words as they ask God to take the following aspects of their lives, my moments and my days… my hands… my feet … my voice…  my lips…  my silver and my gold … my intellect… my will… my heart … my love … myself. The hymn concludes with the declaration coming from a total commitment, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

The word “consecration” is not used in the New Testament as such in most translations, but the concept is certainly there. There are many words in the Greek New Testament that come from the common root (hag). No, this is not a demeaning word for older females! It has the meaning to be “separate” or to “separate from”.  Such words are hagios meaning “holy”, and hoi hagioi meaning “the saints”.  Others are hagnos = “pure”; hagiosunē = holiness; hagiasmos = sanctification; hagiazō = sanctify. When you look at the context where these words are used, you find a common theme. It is separation FROM the world and its values etc, and separation TO God for His purposes. So a “holy” person is not just someone who tries to refrain from doing evil. Rather a holy person is someone who seeks God’s help to do that, but who also commits themselves completely to do the will of God, again with God’s help. Such consecration marked the life of Jesus and it must mark the lives of all His followers.

 1).        Consecrating Ourselves To Live Totally For God.  Some theologians in earlier times have talked about a Divine Exchange. In simple terms it could be expressed in words such as these, “He died for us so that we might live for Him.” That is the theme of Paul’s teaching in 2Corinthians 5:15  and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. The believer has a new focus in life, doing God’s will and not his or her own. If Jesus sacrificed His life for us in His death, then it means we should live for Him for the rest of our lives. He gave Himself, drawing His last breath for us. We must give ourselves for Him, drawing our last breath for Him. And all the other breaths till then.

2).        Consecrating (Or Presenting) Our Bodies Into His Hands In Serving Him. As part of this total consecration to God it is necessary for the believer to give all they are and have to Him. Paul puts it like this in Rom 12:1-2,  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  He had already used a similar expression in Romans 6:13 of presenting or handing oneself over to God,  Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. Of course this makes sense when we realise that our bodies are God’s gift to us. They really belong to Him. We realise they are doubly His because He redeemed us through His blood. His death brought us life. We belong to Him, lock, stock and barrel. Our bodies are His so that He can do in and through us (as we willingly respond to Him) what He wants to do.

Acting on this truth we can offer ourselves to Him in this way, “Lord I offer myself completely to You. I invite You to do in my body and through my body whatever You wish.”  It also means that we can ask the Lord for healing whether it be in body, mind or spirit. We can pray an unselfish prayer for healing, “Lord heal me for Your sake so that I can do your will to your glory, for the rest of my life.” I continue to be amazed at what God does in the lives of those who pray such an unselfish prayer. They become more open to God as they pray. He heals them to enable them to fulfil His eternal plan and purpose for their lives, and not just to remove the pain.

Blog No.114. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 11th March 2013

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113. THE “ABCDE” OF BECOMING MORE OPEN TO GOD FOR HIS BLESSING. “B” for Believing.

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

There is all the difference in the world between believing about and trusting in. James brings that out in his discussion about the true nature of faith in James 2. He states that true faith has an outward expression, Jas 2:17  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. He added that even demons believe that God is one and shudder in fear. However true faith is shown in those who personally trust in God, not just believe in His existence.  Trusting involves believing and acting on the words of the one trusted. In this article we will look at a couple of promises that came from the lips of Jesus to see what might happen if we believed Him and acted on them.

 Promise No 1. God will supply our needs (if we get our focus right in life). Mat 6:24-33. Jesus lived in this world and He knows about all the temptations that humans face. Very often they are temptations to fulfil legitimate needs. But they have to be fulfilled in godly ways and not in ways contrary to the will of God. In Matthew 6 He taught that the people of God need to get their focus right in life. They can focus on mammon, meaning money or possessions which ultimately don’t bring fulfilment. Or they can focus on God, living in the way He wants them to live and allowing Him to give them what they need to live for Him. As He put it in verse 24, “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.”

He proposed that His people should live a life focussed on God. (Mat 6:25)  “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? Anxiety arises when one’s focus is wrong, when it is focussed on the material side of life and not on God Himself. The word “anxious” probably comes from the word merizo meaning to divide. Anxiety comes from a distracted or divided mind. Focussing on the material things of life does lead to distraction. Focussing on the Lord brings peace knowing that He has promised to provide the necessities of life when we do so.  Jesus promised, (Mat 6:31)  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32)  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33)  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 Sometimes people ask me “What does the kingdom of God mean?” I tell them that it refers to God’s rule over His world and over His creatures. We can submit to Him or we can refuse to make Him Lord of our lives. Other people have asked, “What is His righteousness” in the same verse 33.  I tell them that the shortest definition I can give is this, “Righteousness is ‘what God wants’.” So “seeking first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness” is making it a priority in life to do what God wants in every situation in life. Indeed for every moment in life. It means living one’s own life to the glory of God and not for oneself. It means seeking to build up God’s kingdom and not one’s own kingdom, or anyone else’s kingdom.  When we are actively seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness we become more open to receive His blessings.

Promise No.2.  God will answer our prayers which are prayed in faith. Mk 11:24, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  The first thing to note about the verse is its context. Jesus had cursed a fig tree and Peter had expressed his surprise that it had withered so quickly. Jesus had answered, Mar 11:22  And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Then comes our verse 24, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Are there any conditions to this promise? One of the prerequisites we saw in the previous article was “abiding” in the Living word, Jesus, and in the Written word, the Bible so that we are praying according to the will of God.  Now here in this verse there is the emphasis on “believing”.  Believing in a promise involves two  things. It involves trusting that the promise can be fulfilled. It also means trusting in the character of the person giving the promise. If I step out to claim the promise can I trust the promise-giver to be able to fulfil the promise! There is after all a big difference between believing in someone’s promise and really trusting that person to fulfil it. That comes out in the stories told of the famous Frenchman Blondin who could walk across the Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He performed one day and then said to a English nobleman who had been watching him, “Do you believe I could carry you across the Falls in this wheelbarrow?”  “Oh yes”, said the Englishman. To which Blondin reputedly replied, “Well hop in!” The Englishman quickly said that he thought someone else should have the privilege! He believed outwardly that Blondin could perform the feat, but got cold feet himself about getting into the barrow.

God wants us to trust Him. To believe His promises and to act on them.  What does it mean when Jesus said, “believe that you have received it and it will be yours?” Some manuscripts have the present tense “you have” and others have the aorist (past) tense “have received”.   At the very least it means that it was ours from the moment of asking. Or it could have become ours when Jesus cried out “It is finished!” as He hung on the cross, bringing His work of redemption to an end.  Or it could have been ours from all eternity in the foreknowledge of God who knows the end from the beginning. It probably means all these things. So what we can do in praying for blessing and healing is to believe Jesus, believe His promise of answers to prayer and pray something like this, “Lord I ask You to provide this need which I present to You.  I claim Your promise from Your word that it is now mine. Help me to pray with watchfulness and thanksgiving to see just how and when You bring the answer. In the meantime I will thank You by faith for the answer I have until I can thank You by sight.” AMEN.”  I know of hundreds of people who prayed in words like these at our healing services, who received instant healing or experienced the beginning of ongoing progressive healing. God’s promises are true because He is truth.

Blog No.113.  Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Sunday 10th March 2013

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112. The “ABCDE” Of Becoming More Open to God for His Blessing. “A” for Abiding

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

Recently I was teaching at a seminar on Healing. I was thinking about concluding the seminar by looking at how we might become more open to receive God’s blessing and healing. I thought a simple A,B,C might be a good way of covering some of the basic truths involved. However it soon appeared that I should look at the A,B,C,D and E to give a better coverage. We will look here at the first of those topics, the “A” for Abiding.

The Healing Ministry is not simply about techniques for praying nor about special kinds of faith that have to be developed.  Nor is it about special people who can heal while others can’t.  Healing is what God does. That’s why we need to have a close relationship with Him so that we can receive what He has to offer us, or what He has to offer through us as we pray for healing and blessing for others. Like everything else in the Christian faith, healing is about relationships. Pre-eminently our relationship with God.

If God is a loving powerful God of grace, how can we receive the blessings that flow from His grace, especially for healing?  The answer is by building up our relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is amazing what God can do in people’s lives as they open themselves to His mercy, grace, love and power. I saw that happen on many occasions. However there was one occasion when what He did really amazed me. It was during one of our Cancer Weekends in Sydney when we invited those with cancer and their carers to come to our Healing Centre for teaching, fellowship and to receive individual prayer from our team. As I walked in to begin the first session, I was shocked to see a young woman lying on the floor. I discovered later that her body was riddled with cancer. She had only weeks to live at the most.

As we taught on forgiveness she appeared to devour the teaching. She learned how to forgive. She acted on the teaching and began to forgive many of those who had deeply hurt her over the years. Instead of dying soon after that weekend, she returned to the next Seminar some weeks later. Again she acted on the teaching and as a result knew more release and healing. Some months later she was pronounced as being completely free of cancer. She had heard the Bible being taught as the word of God, and she had accepted it as the word of God. She acted on it as though it was the word of God. The result was quite miraculous. She had learned something about the ABCDE of becoming more open to God.

The Bible does says, “Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” It sounds too good to be true. However not everyone receives the answers to prayer they had hoped for. There must be some other factors. What then are the conditions for that statement to become real in people’s experiences? The first of those factors is learning to “abide”.

 

A).       ABIDING. 

Jesus said, John 15:7  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  It’s the people who learn to abide who see answers to prayer. Jesus here speaks about abiding in two different ways.  People must abide in Him. Then they must abide in His word.

a).        Abiding in Jesus, the Living Word.  If you abide in me. This means remaining in close fellowship with Jesus as a person. Abiding means communicating with Him as a living Person. He is alive. Part of that communication should be thanking Him for what He has done for humans on the cross. He bore the penalty for human sin and rebellion and we can be forgiven through receiving Him as our own personal Saviour and Lord. As Paul wrote, Rom 5:10  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.  But Paul in this verse adds another dimension to the saving grace of Jesus, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. So we can ask for His help in living as we should because He lives in us and we are being saved from the power of sin by the power and presence of His life within us.

Jesus is a friend to those who love Him. He said so. Joh_15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. He can reveal the Father and the Father’s will to us, Joh_15:15  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. We can communicate with Him as a trusted Friend, with whom we can share everything. He knows all about our human situation. He can help us to live in a difficult world. He can help us overcome temptation, Heb_2:18  For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. He understands our temptations, Heb_4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

 So the first aspect of abiding is learning to abide in Jesus as a living friend, as well as our Lord. The second aspect should be a natural consequence of the first. It is to take seriously the words Jesus spoke and to act on them.

 b).        Abiding in the words of Jesus. Abiding in the Bible, the written word.  Jesus said, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you. It means reading the Bible which contains Jesus’ words and absorbing their truth. It means meditating on His words, coming to understand them, and then living them out in daily living. James wrote about the written word of God and said it had to be put into practice. Jas 1:22-25, (22)  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.(23)  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.(24)  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.(25)  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. The word (parakuptō ) used here for “looks into the perfect law” is only used 5 times in the New Testament. Twice it refers to Peter stooping to look into the tomb of Jesus. It is also used of Mary Magdalene stooping to do the same thing. The other occurrence is in 1 Peter 1:12 where Peter writes about the desire of angels longing to look into the truth of the good news of  Jesus. It can be seen that the word implies time and commitment. Believers must make every effort to understand the word of God and to put it into practice.

It’s marvellous how you can remember things which became very precious to you in former times. As a brand new believer I was introduced to Scripture Union Bible Reading Notes over 50 years ago. They had a wonderful method of making sure you really read the Bible and applied the truths you learned.  I made up a mnemonic to remember the method. It was PRARP. Firstly you Prayed a prayer before reading the Bible such as the words of Psalm 119:18  Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Then you Read the Bible portion for the day. Following that you Answered the questions they suggested such as What does this passage teach me about God―the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit? What does this passage teach me about the Christian life? Is there a command to obey, a promise to claim, a warning to heed? Is there an example to follow or an error to avoid? What is the main lesson of the passage? Having answered the questions you then Read the Notes commenting on the passage.  The final step was Praying it in. It was a great method for learning to abide in the word, as you had to think deeply about the words and their application for everyday living.

The more we learn to abide in Him and in His word, the more deeply we come to know Him. The more we come to know him, the more we come to know and understand His will. The more we understand His will the more we can pray in accordance with His will. These are the prayers that are answered. As the apostle John wrote, 1Jn 5:13  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 14  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

What a different world it would be if we all learned to abide in Jesus and to abide in His word. More believing prayers would be prayed. More wonderful answers would result. More healing would take place. And God would be glorified in the lives of many more people. We owe it to the world to learn to abide in the living word (Jesus) and in the written word (the Bible).

Blog No.112. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 3rd March 2013

 

 

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111. “Healthy Christian Living.” James 1:19-27

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

It isn’t easy living in today’s world with all its pressures and tensions. However the people to whom James wrote lived in a much more difficult world than the one we live in. In this letter James writes to tell his readers how they could live healthy Christian lives in the midst of adversity and even persecution. He spelt out for them how they could win victory in spite of all the pressures around them. In chapter 1 he reminded his readers that they had to take control of their lives and submit their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 1. GOD REQUIRES THAT WE BE IN CONTROL OF OUR LIVES. Jas 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.

a). In Listening And Speaking.   When James writes about being quick to hear, he means being eager to hear, ready to receive helpful input. He uses the terms to be “slow to speak”and “slow to anger”. To be “slow to speak” doesn’t mean that one has to speak with a slow pronounced drawl. Rather it means that we are to think about what we are about to say before saying it. The passage here is similar to Ephesians 4:20-32 which we will look at in a later article.

What damage has been done to you by people who didn’t watch what they said to you or about you? Older folk might remember the warning notice in the time of World War 2 about passing on confidential information by gossiping. The slogan “Loose lips sink ships” was prominently displayed in public places. The imparting of secret information can cause disasters to happen. Any sort of inappropriate speech can bring hurt, pain, division and destruction. Human enemies can be guilty of this. Certainly Satan will use available humans to use hurtful speech as a means of damaging God’s people.

b). In Controlling Anger. James 1:20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires. We don’t help the cause of Christ by giving way to angry speech. It can be a way of intimidating someone or bringing them under our control. But the Christian way is the way of love. It involves bringing release into people’s lives not binding them or destroying them.  We need God’s wisdom and His righteousness to have victory over our tongues otherwise they cause much evil, Jas 3:8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Do you need to repent before God of the things that you said in anger that have damaged the person to whom you said it, and damaged you as well? If you have been guilty, then you need to confess it before God and ask for His forgiveness in Jesus. Then you need to pray that the person may be healed of the damage you caused them.  If appropriate, you might need to ask for their forgiveness as well.

On the other hand you might have been the recipient of evil, angry, poisonous, hateful words and you feel contaminated, hurt, angry, bitter and terribly sad. If so, you need to do some forgiving of those who behaved towards you in these ways.  You also need to ask God to forgive you of any bitterness and to heal you of the damage those words brought to you. Words have power. As the writer of Proverbs 18:21 put it, Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Human words can build people up and encourage them. Human words can damage and help to destroy them.

2. THE ATTITUDES REQUIRED TO RECEIVE THE WORD OF GOD. 1:21

a).  Ceasing from evil. 1:21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  To be removed are filthiness and rampant wickedness. These are the things that God sees as deliberate and ongoing evil. He sees them as repugnant and contrary to what He wants. If our minds are filled with evil or bitter thoughts we are not receptive to the word of God. If our hearts are not right with God and with one another we cannot receive what God would say to us through His word.If we deliberately speak evil or do evil, we are not open to God’s correction or blessing. All that is evil must be “put away”.

b).  Receiving it in humility. 21. receive with meekness the implanted word…..  “Meekness” is a strong word. It was used of the breaking in of wild animals. It is strength under control. It is submissive strength. Strong people are those who are humble, who learn to receive the word of God in their hearts and let it bear fruit in their lives. We need to get rid of all the rubbish in our lives so that God’s word can take root and bring changes to our lives. We need to be good soil as seen in the parable of the Sower as Jesus said, Mark 4:20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” Hear, accept, bear fruit. The word that is received and acted on will bear fruit.

3. OBEYING THE RECEIVED WORD OF GOD

a). Hearing AND doing. (22-25). (The word as a mirror into which we look.)  The word of God is described as a mirror. There are two ways of looking into a mirror.

i). A quick glance which brings no change. (Glancing /hearing). 1:23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  It is like when we are going out and have a last look in a mirror. We quickly check to see if we put on all the clothing we meant to put on; whether our hair (if we have any) looks respectable. Just a brief glance but no more. Such a cursory glance at the word of God brings no spiritual growth.

ii). A deep search to see what is there and how to act on it in obedience. (Searching/ obeying). 1:25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.  The word to “look” here can mean to stoop to have a good look at something. Eg., Peter and John and Mary Magdalene stooped to look into the tomb. Luke 24:12, John 20:5, 11. We are meant to be those who delve deeply into God’s word. Wee are to learn to understand what it is saying. We are to put it into practice in our every-day living.

b). Pure religion means self-control. (26-27)

i). In speech. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless). We saw before that the mark of a mature believer is that he can control his tongue. The tongue of the person out of step with God is an unbridled tongue, a restless evil, spreading poison.

ii). In concerned action towards others.  True religion is not just focussed on oneself but in humility is focussed on the needs of others.

  •  27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. 
  • The supreme example of humility was seen in Jesus in Philippians 2 and verses 5 to 8. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. It is living for others, not simply living for our own interests.

iii). In separating from evil. James 1:27, Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. We have to be squeaky clean! No stains, no spots, no mixed or hidden motives, but open before God as we seek to love and obey Him. 

 Healthy Christian living is not just an unrealistic ideal towards which we unsuccessfully strive. Rather it is playing our part in being open to the grace of God in every area of our lives so that He can be glorified in and through our lives as believers.

Blog No 111.  Jim Holbeck. Posted Friday 8th February 2013  

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