Forgiveness– The Key to Freedom

“I can never forgive them for what they have done” - How often have we heard these words – perhaps even said them ourselves? But such an attitude can lead to bitterness, which, as we said in our last post is like drinking poison while hoping the other person will die. We also said that forgiveness is most often the antidote to the devastating consequences of bitterness. But many of us do not find forgiveness easy – especially if we have been cruelly hurt. And the truth is we are most deeply hurt by people who are or once were close to us – people we have loved and trusted. Yet forgiveness is the only option – both for our  physical health, wellbeing and growth as well as our spiritual health, wellbeing and growth.

The Bible advises us to – “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behaviour. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4)

For the Christian the main motivation in forgiving others ought  to be the fact that we ourselves have been forgiven. This is a principal which is seen again and again throughout the Bible. But perhaps this whole issue is seen most clearly in a story Jesus told -  recorded in Matthew 18:23 – “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Our own forgiveness and our willingness to forgive others is linked together by Jesus – in a very dogmatic way. In reality the Church of Jesus Christ should be the most forgiving, generous and gracious body of people on earth – that is out calling – but sadly, so often, this is not the case. Of course Christians do not have a monopoly in the forgiveness business – because as we said last time many many people recognise the negative cost of living in bitterness. While I was preparing this post I came across a website – http://www.theforgivenessproject.com.  I would encourage you to have a look at it. It is not a Christian site – there are stores from people of all faiths and none. Of course Christian’s feature and their stories are powerful – but so are many others. There are also stories from people who can not forgive – they consider it is beyond them and perhaps we feel like that as well. But the Christian can call on extra assistance as far as forgiveness is concerned – and we will see a beautifull picture of that shortly.

But to get down to the core of this issue we need to ask, first of all what forgiveness is not!

Forgiveness is not:

1. Approval of what someone may have done to you.

2. Excusing what someone may have done to you.

3. Justifying what someone may have done you.

5. May not necessarily mean reconciliation.

6. Denying what someone may have done to you.

7. Blindness to what happened.

8. Forgetting what happened.

9. Refusing to take the wrong seriously.

10. Pretending we are not hurt.

I believe God a unique ability – and that is the ability to forget when he forgives. The apostle Paul quoting the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah says this – “I (God) will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” (Hebrews 8:12) Unfortunately I do not have the ability to forget the wrongs that have been done to me – yet I can choose to forgive and hold no recorded of these wrongs.

So what is Forgiveness?

1. Being aware of what someone has done and still forgiving them.

2. Choosing to keep no records of wrong.

3. Refusing to punish.

4. Not spreading what they did.

5. Being merciful.

6. Graciousness.

7. It is an inner condition.

8. It is the absence of bitterness.

9. It may include forgiving God for what happened.

10.It may include forgiving ourselves for what happened.

Yet in all of this there remains the danger of what I woud term religious forgiveness. Religious forgiveness says to someone – “you have to earn my forgiveness.” That is the kind of forgiveness the Pharisees in Jesus day taught – and it is still alive and well today in the so called Christian community. But if my forgiveness of others demands that they earn it – then I seriously doubt if I know anything of the free forgiving grace of God in my own life. We need to beware of religious forgiveness!

What happens when we truly forgive?

The first thing that happens is love is free to do its work! The wise man of Proverbs says this – “Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.” (Proverbs 17:9)

Here is what a life coach has written on the subject -

Letting go of grudges and bitterness makes way for compassion, kindness and peace. Forgiveness can lead to:

• Healthier relationships
• Greater spiritual and psychological well-being
• Less stress and hostility
• Lower blood pressure
• Fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and chronic pain
• Lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse

Where do we start?

Forgiveness starts with a decision – an act of the will. We may well have to overcome our emotions! As I said already for some people the decision to forgive is driven by the realisation that their own lives are being destroyed by bitterness. But again for those who claim to be followers of Jesus – the act of forgiveness ought to be motivated by the fact that we ourselves have been totally forgiven. We are by default required to forgive others – because it is a mark of our Fathers House. But what if we cannot find the strength or motivation to forgive?

Let me finish with a story of woman who was forced to deal with this issue in a way I hope none of us ever have to. Her name was Corrie Ten Boom.Corrie was held in Ravensbruck concentration camp. She lost her freedom, her dignity, and her much loved sister and father in the span of a few months in those concentration camps. Corrie was released due to a clerical error, just one week before the other women in Ravensbruck her age were executed. “It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” he said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”

Steve Taylor

Beware of Bitterness

In the Bible there was a man called Asaph. Asaph was a worship leader and songwriter. Psalms 50 and 73-83 are attributed to him – he wrote them and sung them. He was the Marty Sampson, Ruben Morgan, the Chris Tomlin or Graham Kendrick of his day. People looked up to him, he had a great reputation, was famous and respected.

But there was a point in his life when he wrote this – “Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.” (Psalm 73 1&2)

What led this man to come to a place where he almost lost everything he was – everything he believed.

Well – like many of us today he had an issue with the injustice, unfairness he saw in the world – bad people getting good things while good people suffer bad things. As a result he asks this question – “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” (Psalm 73 13&14)

And then, after a period in self examination he says this – “Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.” (Psalm 73:21)

The root of Asaph’s problem was bitterness – and bitterness had started a process in his life which took him to place where he almost checked out of the God life all together. Bitterness has the potential to destroy us – and it can do so without us ever realising the root of the problem.Psychologists tell us that bitterness is an emotional suicide. It effects out health, our wellbeing, and our relationships. It will prevent us for living in the abundance of life Jesus offers. It is like drinking poison while hoping the other person will die.

The Alcoholics Anonymous organization cites resentment as the number one offender, and one of the greatest threats to an alcoholic. Several of the Twelve Steps of AA involve identifying and dealing with resentment as part of the path toward recovery, including acknowledging one’s own role in resentment and praying for the person resented.

So what are the effects of bitterness -

IT CAN EFFECT OUR BODIES

• Physical consequences of bitterness are things such as headaches, ulcers, sleeplessness, heart-attacks, anxiety, fear, tension, depression.

• Bitterness may aggravate or even cause physical problems. It causes fatigue, backache, ulcers, headaches, and drains our vitality.

IT CAN EFFECT OUR EMOTIONS

• The mental consequences of bitterness are continued hypercritical attitudes. Nobody can do anything right. There is usually anger and resentment with things doesn’t go our way (and they often don’t).

IT INFLUENCES AND AFFECTS OTHER PEOPLE

• Bitterness spreads and infects others. They either catch the critical and grouching spirit from the bitter people, or they decide to avoid their company. And, of course, the rejection caused by the bitterness leads to the people concerned feeling even more bitter, and so the cycle continues.

So much then of what our medical experts, psychologist and life coaches say about bitterness – but in reality they are confirming what the Bible teaches and what people experience on a daily basis. One biblical writer, Paul, says this – “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” (Hebrews 12:14)

Notice that Paul uses an interesting picture here – he refers to bitterness as – “a poisonous root”. The DNA of a root is to grow. We need to keep bitterness at bay – to watch and deal with it before it takes root in our lives. You know how difficult it is to deal with an established root especially the root of a tree – eventually only a tractor will pull it out – whereas if it is dealt with while it is a young shoot – it is relatively east to deal with.

And the solution and antibody to the disease of bitterness? – Forgiveness. It’s interesting that even Jesus own disciples struggled with this issue. For instance we read of Peter – “Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” (Matthew 18:21-23) Why? – because not to forgive means fostering bitterness – and we cannot be bitter and know success in life. Nor can we live in bitterness and live the God life at the same time – for the heart of God is always to forgive. So if bitterness is the biggest enemy of winning in life – forgiveness is the greatest antidote.

But for many of us forgiveness does not come easy. We will look at this in a little more detail in a later post – but for the moment – beware of bitterness!

Steve Taylor

The Blindness of Revelation

In every age God appears to bring new revelation. For the most part though what we consider to be new or fresh revelation is probably better quantified as the rediscovery of a path or truth that has been lost of forgotten. The history of the church has been well marked by these – the rediscovery of salvation by faith – the rediscovery of the importance of baptism for believers only – the rediscovery of the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit and, more recently, a rediscovery of the passionate love of the God the Father.

Between these major rediscoveries have been many more which have not hit the headlines in such a spectacular manner – but which are of great importance none the less.

Almost inevitably, as a result of these fresh revelations, new churches and new denominations have sprung up to champion the cause of their new understanding. For a time – perhaps a very long time these rediscoveries remain “in vogue” and make an indelible mark on the spiritual landscape.

Sadly though, just as the children of Israel wanted to worship the bronze snake, the symbol of their redemption (2 Kings 18:4), so to in our era saviours of a newer vintage become the object of veneration.

One would have thought that after its rediscovery the new revelation would, following the initial euphoria, settle in to its place alongside other important revelations associated with life in the kingdom of God – but this appears not to be the case. Rather the rediscovery itself takes centre stage and churches which, one would have thought, ought to reflect the complete revelation of God, even name themselves after their revelation! For instance the titles Presbyterian, Baptist, Pentecostal and Charismatic are all associated with the rediscovery of a perceived revelation – not the overall mandate of the Church of God.

The ultimate sadness in all of this is that what was once meant to be a blessing – becomes the source of blindness. Many people become so absorbed in the revelation of the past that they are blind to what God wants to do in the present. Such people cannot believe that God has moved on from their rediscovery – so their revelation becomes their prison.

All of this poses an important question. Can such a situation be redeemed? I personally believe the answer is both yes and no. It is yes – if the individual, or group is willing to let go of the past and move on to the purposes of God for their lives and the generation in which we live. That may mean some very painful choices in the present – but will be more than worth the effort now and when we stand before God to give an account of ourselves. Sadly however I believe many will opt for the status quoi – to remain within their comfort zone – the traditions of the fathers, ancient or modern. The choice is ours – but both our own blessing and usefulness as well as the destiny of a thousand others may depend upon it.

Steve Taylor

Presence

Have you ever had guests stay with you for a while – people you got on really well with – and after a week or so they leave? How do you feel? I know I sometimes experience an empty feeling – a feeling that something special has gone as their car pulled away and disappeared in the distance. That feeling can last a few hours – or perhaps a few days. Perhaps for some that sense of loss can last for months, or in some circumstances, even years. I meet a lady regularly who, when you ask her how she is, most often replies – I miss my father and my sister. For her the sense of loss and separation is an everyday pain. And the feeling of emptiness we sometimes experience can not only be explained on the physical level– for we can feel like that even when there are many other people surrounding us.

We feel such an absence most keenly of course in our emotions and in our spirit. But, for the most part – give it a day or two and the absence we felt so keenly has gone  and life gets back to normal. At another level we are sometimes surprised by such feelings – we have a sayings don’t we – you never know what you have until you loose it. In other words – at the time we may not have treasured the moments or days we spent with our friends – or perhaps our children – until the day they leave.

I sometimes think our relationship with God can become like that. It is possible that we become so used to our relationship with him that it becomes the norm and we never think of what life would be like without Him. Another tragedy is that many people have never truly experienced the friendship of God. Oh they may be religious – they may go to church – but know nothing of the real presence of God in their lives.

One of the things that strike me as I read through the Bible – is the very real fear people had when they considered loosing God’s presence in their lives. Very early on in the history of the human race one man, because he murdered his brother, was banished from God’s presence. And the banishment was considered by Cain to be one of his greatest punishments. He said to God – “My punishment is too great for me to bear!  You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. ” Genesis 4:13-15 (New Living Translation). David revealed one of his greatest fears in Psalm 51:11 when he wrote –   “Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.”

I wonder how we would feel today if God decided to banish us from his presence. Would we consider it as the ultimate punishment? I don’t know what Hell is – what is looks like – but I personally believe that the greatest pain of Hell is connected with banishment forever from the presence of God. You see to know God’s presence is to know God’s fellowship. And to know God’s fellowship is to truly know God!

One of the greatest privileges in the Old Testament was afforded to the Priests in relation to their fellowship with God. Speaking of the offerings that they were to make they are told in Exodus 29:42 - “Offer them in the Lord’s presence at the Tabernacle entrance; there I will meet with you and speak with you.” The presence of God goes hand in hand with the fellowship of God. And the amazing thing is – that this privilege is ours today. The Apostle Peter wrote to the early church – “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God…. you are a chosen people. You are royal priests a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:5&9 (New Living Translation)

We are called to both enjoy the presence of God and to radiate his presence to others. The Church can operate on many levels as it seeks to reach out to the world in which it lives – and it is right and proper to do all we can do to attract people. But our overwhelming passion,in all we do, should be to introduce people to the presence of God. Why? Simple because His presence is the place of ultimate reality, joy and fulfilment in life. David says of God in Psalm 16:11 – “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

One of the things we need to recognise is that the presence of God can be experienced on different levels. David, who so dreaded loosing the presence of God in his life, also said –in Psalm 139:7 – “I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from your presence!” And that is true because God is everywhere. All of us live, at one level, in the presence of God – whether we know it or not! But we can stand in the presence of the Queen – and yet not know her in an intimate way. Her intimate presence is known only by her husband and children and some chosen close friends. That is the kind of relationship in to which God invites us – in to the intimacy of his presence.

Paul uses an interesting analogy for the experience of the intimate presence of God. Writing to the early Church he says – “Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 13:13-14 (New Living Translation) Our clothes are the closest thing to our skin – yet our clothes are seen by others! This is a picture of both intimacy and example! Finally here are some Bible verses that speak of the way we live in the presence of God –

WE CAN LIVE BOLDLY

Ephesians 3:12 (New Living Translation)

• Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

WE CAN LIVE JOYFULLY

1 Thessalonians 3:9 (New Living Translation)

• …. we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.

WE MUST LIVE HUMBLY

1 Corinthians 1:29 (New Living Translation)

• …. no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

WE MUST LIVE IN SINCERITY, BY FAITH AND WITH A CLEAR CONCIENCE

Hebrews 10:22 (New Living Translation)

• Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Steve Taylor

Colour

God loves colour – he created it! Have you ever looked at the beauty of the tints and tones in a beautiful flower – God designed that! God is in to vibrant living colour – in fact we can discover much about God by taking notice of how he uses colour!

Indeed – not only does our creative God design his world with the most beautiful use of colour – but   colour is important to him for other reasons – for colour displays his character.

The first striking instance of this was when God commanded Moses to build the first Tabernacle in the wilderness – which was in fact a tent – a place where he could meet with men. God instructed Moses –

• “Make the Tabernacle from ten curtains of finely woven linen. (Linen is white) Decorate the curtains with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skilfully embroidered cherubim”. (Exodus 26)

Only a blind person could come near this tent without noticing these four colours –

• WHITE -  BLUE -  PURPLE -  SCARLET

And these four colours give us balanced picture of the character of God – a picture which is repeated again and again throughout the Bible.

I believe that one of the great mistakes of many churches is that they focus on one colour to the exclusion of the others – one of the results of which are the divisions, denominations and the plethora of churches we find in our world today. We will explore this in more detail later.

The fact is that these four colours represent different aspects of the character of God -

• Fine Linen, which is dull white, is normally the clothing, at least in the Middle East, of the common man.

• Purple is the colour associated, almost universally, with Kingship/Royalty.

• Scarlet, again almost universally – is the colour associated with sacrifice – for it is the colour of blood.

• Blue – is the colour of heaven – where God was supposed to live.

So these four colours – are chosen by God to represent the four main aspects of his character. He is -

• God over all

• King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Yet he is at one and the same time

• The suffering Servant

• The Man

As God we honour and worship him. As King we live under his authority and rule. As servant he meets our every need and provides for us all we require for life and for eternity and as Man he is the friend who is closer to us than a brother or sister – one who knows what it is like to live my life – to feel my pain and to know my suffering.

And I need to know God in each of these ways –if not my appreciation of him and my relationship with him will be incomplete.

Of course four colours – these four aspects are not enough to describe all God is – for his character is multi faceted – but in his own wisdom God gives us these four colours to help us understand him.

But these four colours also reveal a bigger principal seen throughout the Bible and it is the principal not only of four COLOURS – but the principal of FOUR.

For instance, and perhaps most strikingly, we have four gospels – each of which has a theme connected with these four COLOURS.

• Matthew – primarily views Jesus as a King who has come to set up His Kingdom.

• Mark – primarily views Jesus as the suffering servant of God who has come to offer himself as a sacrifice for men and women.

• Luke primarily views Jesus as the perfect man – an example for all to follow.

• John primarily views Jesus as the majestic, divine and holy Son of God.

Jesus also came for four main reasons –

• He came as a conquering King to invade the realm and territory of Satan in order to establish his Kingdom. In so doing he defeats (as a King) the power of darkness, evil and death.

• He came as a servant to seek lost humanity and lead them back to relationship with his Father – to bring them home. So we have pictures of him as the servant shepherd seeking for the lost sheep and when he finds them he carries them in his arms to the safety of the Fathers fold.

• He came also as a man – experiencing out pain, our joys, and our sorrows and at one and the same time demonstrated a life of perfect communion with his Father.

• And he came as God– to reveal to us the very heart of The Father – the human face of God if you like – in his unfailing love, grace, mercy and compassion.

And all of these meet the need of the human condition –

• He comes to me as my loving King – and in love I bow daily and acknowledge his Lordship in my life. I need a King.

• He comes to me as my servant, shepherd, and saviour – to sacrifice himself for me and to bring me back to the Father. I need a Servant/Saviour

• He comes to me as Friend – the one who is closer and more intimate than any human companion can ever be. I need a friend.

• And he comes to me as God of all creation – God of my life – the one I worship and adore. I need a God to worship.

But, as we said earlier, what has happened is that very often, Churches and individual Christians have focused on one colour – on one aspect of who God is – and as a result we have imbalanced and sometimes dysfunctional Churches and Christian lives. For instance –

Some churches emphasise the Kingly aspect of God and his Divine Authority. Their big emphasis is apostolic authority – strong leadership and the subservience and obedience of the people. This movement very often sing battle songs, talk about taking the land and major on spiritual warfare. Some of us experienced the fallout from what was called the “Heavy Shepherding Movement” – still prominent in some circles – where if you will not come under the authority of the leaders – you are rejected and ostracised. This is dysfunctional church. I think this is  probably the most destructive colour imbalance – because it is power based and very often becomes abusive.

Other branches of the church, in what are termed “Evangelical Circles” place an imbalanced emphasis on Jesus as Saviour – to the exclusion of everything else. He is Saviour of course – but he is more than that.

Yet others, major on Jesus as man and friend – on the sympathetic nature, love and mercy of God – to the exclusion of the fact he is righteous King with expected standards of behaviour in his Kingdom. The end result of this is – anything goes – because God is love – which of course he is – but he is more than that. And so we could go on.

Suffice to say – a balanced, healthy Church and Christian life require that we relate to God in all the aspects of his character and enjoy him in full Technicolor!

Steve Taylor

Repeantance

Repentance is very often connected in our minds with warnings of judgement rather than the practical love of God expressed in his goodness towards us.

I have heard many dire warnings addressed to “sinners” as to the consequence of remaining in “sin”. However, I have heard relatively few which would suggest that the true cause of repentance is the goodness of God! Yet the Bible clearly indicates that it is the forbearance, longsuffering and vast treasure of God’s goodness, which are the real foundation of true repentance.

I believe we find two kinds of repentance in the Christian world today. One is fuelled by fear the other by love. One leads to a formal, master/servant relationship – the other to an intimate love/service relationship. One will do the minimum to placate God – the other can never do enough for the one who loves them passionately. One spends as little time as possible to – “give God his due”, the other longs to spend the whole of life in the presence of their Father King.

We see all of this worked out by way of practical illustration in the lives of the young men we find in Jesus parable, commonly referred to as the parable of the “Prodigal Son”.   However the story refers to two sons  – one religious and one a rebel. Both viewed their father from an economic point of view – one from whom they could benefit financially! One served his father by strict observance to the rules – while the other broke all the rules in the book and left home for the good life. The rebel eventually returned for economic reasons – intending to work as hard as he could to redeem himself. But his heart was broken by a kiss and the goodness of God brought him to the place of full repentance.

Full repentance involves restoration as well as turning (repenting). While the father in Jesus story rejoiced to see his wayward son returning, the most significant aspect of the story is that of restored relationship – a relationship in which the elder son, despite his religious commitment, refused to share.

ST

A Suffering God

“In all their suffering he also suffered”

(Isaiah 63: 9 – NLT

Suffering pain and affliction are not attributes we readily associate with God when we consider his transcendent majesty. Despite our experience of the Father Heart of God, in which he reveals his sympathetic nature, we may still have a nagging feeling that he is in some way detached from our suffering and pain. Yet Father God is revealed in this verse as one who not only sympathises with us in our suffering – but as one who suffers with us. How can this be?

Although there is a great mystery here, we see the outworking of this truth in the death of Jesus. God the Father was in Jesus the Son as he died, or as one biblical writer puts it – “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5: 19 – KJV). The Father suffered in the Son. In one sense God died two deaths! Many a father would die for his son – but in the death of Jesus both the Son and the Father suffered.

The pain of Jesus was the pain of the Father – just as the works of Jesus in his lifetime were the works of the Father.

So in our suffering He also suffers – I can not fully understand it – but my Daddy feels my pain, my loss, my brokenness, my disappointment, my emotion – what an amazing Father!

ST

Sheltered

“I sing for joy in the shadow of your protecting wings”

(Psalm 63: 7 NLT)

God reveals himself in both masculine and feminine terms.  Very early in the Bible he (The Most High) is described– “Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young”. In the very same verse the writer goes on to use masculine terms – “…. So he spreads his wings to take them in and carried them aloft on his pinions” (Deuteronomy 32: 8 NLT).

David who recognised in God both the masculine and feminine qualities that may have been lacking in his natural parents, later wrote – “I think how much you have helped me; I sing for joy in the shadow of your protecting wings” (Psalm 63: 7 NLT). He also wrote – “He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers. His faithful promises are your armour and protection” (Psalm 91: 4NLT).

Millions of people today long for safety and security. Anxiety and stress are the plagues of our generation. Yet the answers to these are not to be found in the might of armies, the latest security equipment, life insurance policies or medical science.

Our Father offers us the protection of his wings, a place where, like the writer of this Psalm, we can sing in the face of adversity. He longs to be our protection, our place of safety from the storms of life. His promises are our armour – but we have to run to him, trust him and rest by faith in his love and protection.

ST

Unfailaing Love

“So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.”

(John 1:14 – NLT)

The Apostle John reveals the heart of Jesus – Jesus reveals the heart of the Father. Many people have difficulty identifying with a father figure. Perhaps some have never known their father, or in knowing him, found him to be a stern, demanding or even abusive figure. Our experience of a human father, or lack of one, is, very often, reflected in our attitudes and relationship with our heavenly Father. Yet, if John was asked to sum up in one sentence his impression of Jesus, who is the human face of the Father (“the exact representation of his being”  – Hebrews 1:3 – NIV) he would say simply – “He is full of unfailing love and faithfulness”.

Regardless of the relationship we have had with our natural father, or our lack of one, God wants to reveal himself as the true Father who loves us passionately and promises never to fail us. Even the best earthly father cannot fully reflect the essence of love our Father in heaven feels and longs to express towards us. Once this truth is understood and experienced – nothing in the world will shake our confidence in Father’s love and faithfulness.

ST