Perfection

The Lord’s teachings are perfect. The Lord’s rules can be trusted. Psalm 19:7

There’s not a lot of things in this life that we think of as perfect, and few rules that we can fully trust to keep us out of trouble. That’s in spite of the laws of our land being based on the commandments and principles of God’s Word.

The Psalmist in chapter 33:12 says: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. These verses of the Psalmist automatically take our mind to the state of our nation. Our laws were indeed initially formed from the basis of God’s Word, but do you still see that intent today as laws and amendments are made to accommodate the sin sick society we now live in? Changes to reflect our view of sexual sins in particular come to mind which the Bible is so clear about. Now we also make it so easy to terminate life in the womb, and also by ending life by euthanasia of the old, and the not so elderly? Beware the ‘good’ we think we do!

The Bible is clear that any nation will be blessed when they honour God. Can we truthfully say that our once great nation still honours God? Is it possible, or perhaps even certain, that our nation’s fall from grace is directly linked and due to the clear fact that we no longer honour God, not only as our Law Giver, but also as our Lord and Saviour at both a personal and national level? May God forgive us and have mercy on our nation!

The Unknown Jesus

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am?” John 14:9

Philip had been around Jesus for some time by now. He had seen the miracles, watched the crowds recognise Him as the long awaited Messiah, and yet for all that Jesus was still a mystery to Philip. An enigma. A puzzle. An unknown. Why did Jesus have to tell Philip he still didn’t really know who He was?

Let’s not be too hasty to blame or criticise the man, after all we are no better in our modern church from those early followers who like Philip were still not sure what to do with Jesus. Like many who will be reading this, I have been in and around church most of my life, and yet can still miss the message of the gospel so easily. More than that, we can miss the whole reason for Jesus coming to this earth as the ‘God-Man’, fully God but fully Man at the same time.

Who else could forgive our sins and wrongdoings, except a perfect Man? Jesus is that perfect Man, as Philip would find out! I trust we can also find out who this Jesus really is, just like the early disciple.

Whose Side?

But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. Mark 9:39-41

Sometimes I think we are too quick to discount someone’s faith, or even a part of that faith, if it doesn’t sit well within our own understanding of Scriptural truth. We set aside many other Christians of different denominations who hold their beliefs sincerely, and live out that faith in better ways than we do ourselves, and yet we dismiss them as misled or just plain wrong. Now and again, when I hear someone I know, or have only heard of by reputation, saying something I don’t like or believe, I have to stop myself from saying, “..but the Bible says” as if I am the only one reading the Word and trying to live by its teaching. I am not that perfect person who knows all, and come to think of it that perfect person doesn’t exist this side of heaven. We must avoid the trap of being ‘elitist’ in nature, word, deed, or thought.

Our greatest example and perfect leader did not fall into that trap, so should we not be closely following our Lord and Saviour? Jesus was careful to separate actions ‘in His name’ (which have their reward), while pointing out if they do these things, they cannot ‘lightly speak evil of Me’. I am reminded that we show our faith as being genuine by the works we do as a result of our faith. We come to believe in Jesus through faith, but if it stops there, Scripture says we are ‘dead’. That should pull us up short when we try to compare other people’s faith as inferior to ours when they are the ones who put action to their words. Instead of comparing the faith of others, let’s get down to working for the Kingdom. What is your gift or talent that God has already given you to use for His work? You can only use it when you find out what it is.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26