Jars of Clay

Image by Pete Briscoe

14/3/15

S: 2 Corinthians 4:6-18 For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body.

For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body. As a result, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. But since we have the same spirit of faith as that shown in what has been written, “I believed; therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak. We do so because we know that the one who raised up Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will bring us with you into his presence.

For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace that is including more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

O: "Life is suffering," the Buddha said. In a sense, he is correct in this, and this passage from the Bible agrees. But that's not the end of the story.

Actually, for most people reading this blog, I would guess that life is not as much suffering as for the majority of the people in the world. We don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from; we have a place to sleep tonight, etc. Recently, we have read of the 21 martyrs in Libya, the 4,000 killed by Boko Haram, the 10,000 killed by ebola, and the many-times-more grieving relatives of these victims.

But we have our "little problems" -- as I grow older, the years of playing high-impact sports have worn out my knees and now I have to do orthopaedic exercises to prevent knee pain, and have to be careful how I walk up stairs, and how I lift heavy objects, and how I sit due to my coccyx injury, etc.

Paul himself suffered from all sorts of ailments. But he points out that even as our physical body will wear away, and all of us will physically die, our inner person can be renewed day by day. Eternity beckons, and our lives here is but "momentary light affliction."

But it's not just "buck up and pull yourselves up by your bootstraps"! We have this treasure in jars of clay. What is this treasure? It is the power of God for salvation.

For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6

A: In light of this, let us stay true to Christ, even through the daily toil and trouble. As that old Negro spiritual says,

I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Wandering through this world of woe
But there is no sickness, no toil, nor danger
In that bright land to which I go.
Therefore, we do not despair. We continue to do what is right, in spite of everything, "though the fig tree does not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vine" as Habakkuk says.

We can rejoice, even in our "momentary light affliction", as we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

As we recall, when Jesus was walking on water, and Peter stepped out of the boat to walk to him, as long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he could also walk on the water. Only when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm around did he begin to sink. Yet even as he did, he cried out to Jesus and Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. (Matthew 14:22-36)

P: Father, thank You that we have Your treasure in our jars of clay. When we see the winds and waves buffet, help us to keep our eyes on Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

14/2/15

S: Romans 14:13-15 Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another, but rather determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; still, it is unclean to the one who considers it unclean. For if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy by your food someone for whom Christ died.

O: I sometimes get annoyed with people who assert things which I know to be false. Sometimes I feel like deliberately doing something to provoke them on the area of dispute.

A: While there is a place for persuading people to change their minds about their wrong beliefs (e.g. Paul himself in Galatians 2-3 tries to persuade people who believe in all these clean/unclean practices to change their minds), we must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Speaking the truth without love is a good way to drive people away from the truth. "A gentle response turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath." Proverbs 15:1

Jesus calls us to value the other person. We should persuade them to the truth because of love, for their own benefit, not for our own self-aggrandizement.

Ultimately, there is no point winning an argument when you've lost the person.

P: Father, when I find myself in a disagreement with someone, help me to remember that the other person is someone Jesus has died for. Help me to love them like Jesus loves them. In Jesus' name, amen.

Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

The just shall live by faith

31/1/15

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”

O: Paul was quoting Habakkuk 2:4 when he wrote “The righteous by faith will live.” or as a more familiar translation puts it, “The just shall live by faith.”

Habakkuk had complained to God during the waning days of Judah as an independent kingdom around the 7^th century B.C. He observed that bad people were prospering, yet God doesn't seem to be punishing them.

Does that sound familiar? Today we see what Daesh is doing in Syria & Iraq, what Boko Haram is doing in Nigeria the surrounding countries, what the Burmese government is doing to both Muslims and Christians, the blasphemy cases in Pakistan, the heightened persecution in India since the BJP took power, etc. In our own country of Malaysia, we see how the government is eroding our civil liberties and restricting our churches, what with the “Allah” case, the conversion of East Malaysian rural Christians by trickery, the corruption, the gerrymandering and malapportionment, etc.

A: It's easy to despair. But in the end, Habakkuk realized that God is still in control, and we need to trust God even when things look like chaos.

When the fig tree does not bud,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
when the olive trees do not produce,
and the fields yield no crops;
when the sheep disappear from the pen,
and there are no cattle in the stalls,
I will rejoice because of the Lord;
I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!
The sovereign Lord is my source of strength.
He gives me the agility of a deer;
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.

― Habakkuk 3:17-19

P: When things seem to be falling apart, help me to remember that You are still in charge, my Lord and Saviour. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Plan B

23/1/15

S: Acts 19:21 After all these things had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem by traveling through Macedonia and Greece. He said, “After I have been there, I must see Rome.”
Acts 20:22-23 “I am determined to go to Jerusalem now. I don’t know what will happen to me there. However, the Holy Spirit warns me in every city that imprisonment and suffering are waiting for me.
Acts 21:4 In Tyre we searched for the disciples. After we found them, we stayed there for seven days. The Spirit had the disciples tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem.
Acts 21:10-14 After we had been there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. During his visit he took Paul’s belt and tied his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man who owns this belt. Then they will hand him over to people who are not Jewish.’” When we heard this, we and the believers who lived there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Then Paul replied, “Why are you crying like this and breaking my heart? I’m ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but also to die there for the sake of the Lord, the one named Jesus.” When Paul could not be persuaded, we dropped the issue and said, “May the Lord’s will be done.”

O: The Holy Spirit warned Paul time and time again not to go to Jerusalem, but Paul was determined to go. He saw the great turning to Christ among the Gentiles, and he longed to see a similar turning to Christ among his own people, the Jews. So Paul allowed his own desires to cloud his judgment and he managed to rationalize disobeying the clear command of the Holy Spirit, saying, “Why are you crying like this and breaking my heart? I’m ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but also to die there for the sake of the Lord, the one named Jesus.”

However, God did not abandon Paul because of this disobedience. Indeed, Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and spent at least 4 years in captivity as a result. Who knows what plans God may have had for him in those two or three years? But God still used Paul in prison — He used that time to inspire Paul to write several epistles, and also used Paul to lead many of Caesar's soldiers to Christ.

A: Even a great man of God like Paul messed up. And he wasn't the only one — Abraham, David, Peter, they all messed up. Yet God did not abandon them. God still had a Plan B for them.

So, if you find that you have messed up, that you've disobeyed God, that you have deluded yourself somehow to think that your own desire is God's plan, don't give up! He still can use you, just as he did Paul.

P: Father, thank You that you're ever merciful and give us second chances. When I mess up, may I quickly get up, repent, and return to following You. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: Some Christians disagree with the interpretation that Paul had disobeyed God in insisting to return to Jerusalem. This is mainly due to the ambiguity of translation of verses like Acts 19:21 and Acts 20:22. The Greek is ambiguous: the word "spirit" can mean a person resolved to do something. However, if you compare many translations, for example using biblehub.com, you can see that only some of the translations translate this as "Spirit" — others translate it as "spirit", while others translate it as "decided to" or "determined" or "resolved to."

Given that God sent several prophecies to warn Paul not to go back to Jerusalem, including one by the same Agabus who accurately predicted the Judean famine, I think it makes a lot more sense to interpret it this way. These web pages have a more detailed discussion of this issue:

• http://www.themoorings.org/expositions/Acts/chap20-21.html
• http://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/acts/pauls-mistake

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Community

10/1/15

S: 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

O: This verse has been quoted in modern English many times to mean that our personal bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. That's not what the Greek says, apparently. "Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ναὸς Θεοῦ ἐστε, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν" I don't know Greek, but I'm told by people who know Greek that the "you" here is plural Even the King James Version, which was translated from the Greek back before English lost the ability to distinguish between the singular and plural second pronoun, says "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" -- Note that it says "ye are the temple of God" and "dwelleth in you" (plural) not "thou art the temple of God" and "dwelleth in thee" (singular). This is also clear in the Chinese translation " 难道你们不知道自己是上帝的殿宇吗？不知道上帝的灵生活在你们心中吗？" "你们" is plural you. German "Denkt also daran, dass ihr Gottes Tempel seid und dass Gottes Geist in euch wohnt!" "Ihr" is plural.

That means that I am not the temple of the Holy Spirit. We in community are the temple of the Holy Spirit (and the Father, and the Son.)

There is a stream within modern Christian thought that "Me, the Bible and Jesus" is all that is necessary. I have heard it said so many times by sincere Christians "You are the temple of the Holy Spirit!" meaning you, singular.

But even aside from this verse, Hebrews 10:24-25 points out "And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near."

The word "church" itself is a translation of εκκλησία, which I am told, meant "gathering" or "assembly" in Koine Greek. (That's the dialect of Greek that the New Testament was written in.)

A: We are not meant to be lone ranger Christians. We need each other. We need the positive peer pressure, and when two or three are gathered in Jesus' name, then He is with us (Matthew 18:20) Let us not neglect meeting together regularly, encouraging one another to love and good deeds! (Hebrews 10:24-25)

P: Father, when we feel like our church is not "feeding" us, when we feel "tired of going to church" remind us to look for ways to improve it rather than to run away and be lone ranger Christians. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

The world is dangerous... but don't worry! Why?

27/12/14

S: John 167:32-33 “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

O: Christians are being persecuted all over the world today. Today, Saeed Abedini sits in an Iranian prison because of his faith in Jesus. He made a cross out of paper and put it on his cell wall, but his jailors made him take it down. In solidarity, Brant Hansen is urging people to make a paper cross and put it on their Christmas tree to remind us to pray for him and to encourage him and his family.

In Syria and Iraq, Daesh has killed many Christians and chased the rest out of the territory it controls. In Nigeria, Boko Haram continues to kill Christians and even Muslims who are not for their murderous agenda. In Somalia and Kenya, it is Al-Shabaab.

Even here at home in Malaysia, Perkasa, Isma and even the government has threatened Christians, banned the Malay and Iban Bible, told Muslims that they're sinning if they wish us Merry Christmas, etc. Nowhere close to being as bad as Al-Shabbab, Boko Haram and Daesh, of course. But Christians feel the threats.

Hebrews 11 has a list of Old Testament saints who suffered much for their faith, saying “the world was not worthy of them.” In the New Testament, we have a huge long list of martyrs. from ancient times till today.

Yet, Jesus told us from the beginning, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” But he also immediately followed it up with “But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

As I wrote about 2 life journal entries ago, if we are in Christ, we have no longer any need to fear death. That's why Paul could say, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

A: So, as we face this world that of great evil and great danger, we can rest assured that

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- Romans 8:31-39

P: Father, when we feel afraid or anxious because the evil in this world, remind us of this truth. Keep us faithful and on Your path. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Why Jesus came

20/12/14

S: John 11:21-27 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

“Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”

O: As we come close to Christmas, people are focused on the baby Jesus. But the reason we celebrate the birth of Jesus was because of what He came to do: die to pay for our sins, and in doing so, conquer death. That is why He is the resurrection and the life, so that everyone who believes in Him will live, even if he dies.

A: So even as we celebrate Advent, let us remember why He came. Let us live in light of that wonderful fact:

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

P: Father, thank You for the Greatest Gift! May we live our lives in appreciation, sharing Your love with the world. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)