Not Ashamed

Pressure and persecution will come, as our Lord Jesus said.

So let’s be prepared and equipped to stand up for God’s Word in the face of those who would silence it, no matter the cost. The incredible grace-soaked truth of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us liberates us to live wildly transformed lives that put Him first and trust His Word - all of His Word - wholeheartedly. May the Gospel daily compel us to grow in godliness, unashamedly speaking God’s truth in love, defending the innocent, and “taking up the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all, to stand” (Eph 6:13).

Such a good day spent at the ACL National Conference: Not Ashamed!

#ACLNationalConference2019 #NotAshamed

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Romans 1:16

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 6:16-18

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matt 5:11-12

Australian Christian Lobby "Not Ashamed" National Conference 2019

Making Jesus the LORD of every aspect of your life.

(From my phone memo reflections...)

Making Jesus the LORD of every aspect of your life.

We always talk about how Jesus is Lord. How Jesus is my Lord, my King. But do we know what we’re actually saying? And what does that mean for our everyday life?

I have been dwelling on this for a few days now and it really struck me that I need to think deeply about this and then act quickly and wisely. For not only is He Lord of my life, He is the Omniscient God so I can’t hide anything from Him anyway.

Hmm how can we compare it to something we can humanly understand?

We have a Queen. She reigns, she has a kingdom. But we don’t really have her very words with us, or know what she says all the time. But if we did, and if she asked us to do something, we would have to do it, we would have to obey it. She’s the queen, we’re her subjects. She’s the one with power who is supposed to take care of us. 

(Perhaps not the most fitting example for our times but…)

Okay, but how about police? They have authority. They enforce the law of our land. When they flash their lights behind us, we pull over. When a policeman steps out onto the road with his hand out to say STOP, we stop. We obey.

And think about our own situation - even our classrooms can help us understand this idea of lordship somewhat. As teachers, we, in a sense, rule the classroom. We have the power to say stop and expect the students to obey, to follow these directions. We have the final word as is part of our role.

So ultimately, having Jesus as your Lord, your King, means we need to obey Him. He has the final word - it is part of His role and part of who He is in making God known. And He will have the final word when He returns to judge the living and the dead. Jesus Himself says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15. Where do we find His commandments? God has been so good to give us His very words: Jesus’ spoken words on earth as scribed in the Gospels, but also we have the whole Bible being the divinely inspired word of God Almighty! So in here we can find all that we need for “life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” 2 Peter 1:3b. It’s not just about being a good citizen, or doing good only in the eyes of others. Because the Lord Jesus Christ is the all-seeing, all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe, seeing down to the quarks in atoms and all the galaxies undiscovered and everything in between. It’s definitely not like the Queen, or the police, or even us teachers, we see a lot but we miss a lot that happens too. Not with God. Not with Jesus. No, it’s about surrendering every. aspect. in. our. life. to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Everything, no hidden rooms. No getting away with just Sunday best and doing good things in the light.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Proverbs 1:1. Amen! It’s this right kind of sure fear and awe and wonder at one true living God that we desperately need in our busy or mundane or destructively self-reliant and self-centred days. 

But hey if we start to think it’s all about guilt-tripping ourselves into living lives pleasing to God, there’s also something tremendously wrong going on! For the Holy Spirit is living in us, transforming us to be more like Christ from the inside out, and more and more we ought to see godliness as an immense privilege, a beautiful gift, a radical step toward glory in a broken world. Our desires are being changed to want to serve Jesus and honour Him in all we do. And yes there’s a terrible struggle with the flesh but we can fight temptation and we can win by Christ’s power and by the power of His blood. For what are we now that we are saved from utter darkness? We are Jesus Christ’s loyal servants and subjects in His eternal kingdom, and believe me He is a far better and wiser and kinder King than any monarch who has ever graced or disgraced the earth. And the best part is we can have a real relationship with Him, the King of kings! Not like our relationship (or lack thereof) with the Queen. There’s no dialogue, no real knowledge of the other. But oh with Jesus! We can know and talk to Jesus whenever, wherever, forever, for we know that God’s Word says nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38). 

Even if He doesn't

Some notes I prepared for staff devotions at work this week. 

Daniel 3:8-17 

8 At this time some astrologers[b] came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold,11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attentionto you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what godwill be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Some thoughts I wanted to share with you from this passage:

• I was struck by the 3 Israelites' unwavering in trust in God no matter the outcome & in spite of persecution. I'm convicted to be more like them in my walk with Jesus: Believing God has the power to save/heal/restore but also refusing to bend when the enemy attacks or tempts us to put anything else before God.
• This passage spoke powerfully to me when my sister's mind was unreachable, that I should have the same attitude as the 3 men. Even if God doesn't heal the way we expect, I will not bow down to anything other than Jesus.
  We should strive to have that “Even if He doesn’t” attitude that will not bend to temptation, sin, or anything that flies in the face of God being Lord of our life. And we can be comforted that through Jesus, even when we do slip, even when we do forget, God never lets go of us. His grace is bigger than our biggest sins and regrets, His grace is bigger than our minds and our sanity, that’s why it’s nothing we can do to save ourselves but everything Christ has done for us.
  
• As people who trust in Jesus, how great it is to carry this hope in us as we go to work each day! No matter what fiery obstacles in our day, we serve the One and only God who is able to save. 

Get on side

Be on the side of the One who beat death. There’s only been One – His name is Jesus Christ. Through faith in Him, we’ll one day beat death too. This is hope like no other.

#JesusisRisen ❤️#ResurrectionSunday✨ 

“Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.” Luke 24:12

Seeing new colours

I opened a tube of ultramarine blue today. I’ve been painting with pthalo blue for so long, so it was strange to try a different blue. It shone different, it mixed different, it felt different. But there was something about it, and it got me thinking.

It’s crazy how everything can change overnight. Your present normal, your everyday experience, your home can be shaken to the core - just like that. Things that you never once considered suddenly greet you with a glassy-eyed stare and a cold handshake. There’s numbness, there’s pain, there’s fear, there’s weakness, there’s so much uncertainty.

But then there’s God, who never changes, whose promises never fail. God, who had no beginning, who has no end. God, whose love extends beyond anything we could ever understand. And that love is in the shape of a cross, cutting through the blanket of grief - literally tearing the curtain between us and Him and opening the road to Heaven where there’ll be no more confusion, sadness, pain and tears.

We might find ourselves in a hard place, a dark place, a place where we’re still trying to process what’s happening and every answer seems to elude us, but God is big enough to handle our questions.

And as I draw near to Him, as I cling to Him who has never stopped holding me, I start to see new colours glimmering in this foggy maze. There is beauty, there is hope, there is healing in Jesus’ name. 

There is so much to God

There is so much more to God - so much more to Jesus that I don’t know yet and whose immeasurable and infinite number of qualities are glorious and wonderful and would never disappoint - and yet I so often trade getting to know the infinite awesome and loving God for the foibles of fallible and limited humans whose hidden qualities are bound to disappoint. 

Lately, I’ve been so encouraged by Mike Bickle’s book Passion for Jesus; it really helps me gain the right perspective on knowing and loving God and come back to the place that I know is good for me, where Christ is at the centre and I am like the panting deer, my soul longing for God Himself, the Lord God of passionate love and grace and wondrous majesty, and unleashing a fountain of desire to share His great goodness and salvation with the world. I've also been reading None Like Him by Jen Wilkin, and I am constantly mindblown by how big and how mighty and how set apart He is. Yet by His Spirit inside me I get to call Him "Abba, Father".

I will spend the rest of my days and all of eternity getting to know this Almighty God who I can call Dad, this Beautiful Saviour who in love rescued my soul.