Since the Reformation in the 16th Century the teachings of the Apostle Paul and the Elder James have often been portrayed as being at odds with each other. Much time is spent by theologians and New Testament scholars trying to conclude whether there is a real conflict between the writings of these leaders or not.
It seems to me that there is not really a conflict present, but the topic of faith is approached from a different perspective. This is probably because the supposedly contradictory pieces of writing are addressing different audience needs at the time of their writing. Meaning that the focus of the authors’ messages shift in order to highlight the needs they are addressing. This happens even within Paul’s own New Testament writings, so it is not really surprising that this happens between two different New Testament authors.
We should acknowledge that there is much more of Paul’s writing recorded in the New Testament and so we hear his perspective on many more issues than we do that of James. This is part of the reason why it seems a bit impetuous to judge James and Paul’s writings as being at odds when there is so little of James’ writing to be able to compare with Paul’s. Certainly there seems adequate other examples within Paul’s work of his being in agreement with James on the importance of good works by professing Christians, even if he does not use always these labels. Paul then, unlike James, has much more opportunity to address the fact that salvation is not through works simply because of the volume of his writings available to us. Because of this we are able to see that Paul’s own good works are his way of expressing gratitude to God for the graceful salvation provided through Jesus Christ. Paul’s works, like the traditions of his Jewish heritage, are a response to God’s grace.
James also saw good works as a way of living out God’s grace, and as such he concludes that these grace inspired works are the evidence that a person is living in Christ. The problem seems to arise though in the assumption that James is addressing salvation when he discusses works. It is true that our modern English translations record him using the phrase, “Can such faith save them?” (James 2:14b). The NIV’s wording here is important, because it uses the word ‘such’. It refers back to what James as described previously, that is a person who claims to know Jesus Christ, but does not act like it at all. To James, and Paul is very likely to agree with James on this: this was not the mark of genuine salvation. So a careful reading of the context shows that this then is likely a remark which is almost sarcastic, and is possibly even a comment made in exasperation with people who are not serious at all about the sacrifice Jesus Christ had made for them yet they are quite happy to pretend they are. If this comment had been written in English when first recorded we would probably have put the word ‘faith’ in parentheses to show that James is not referring to genuine faith, but instead to the person’s own imitation ‘faith’. “…such faith…” then is not the same as the faith that James and Paul are both so passionate about people receiving and both James and Paul show a real lack of tolerance for people who display this imitation ‘faith’. And so James’ letter is most likely not discussing works as a way to salvation, but is instead addressing how Christians should live as representatives of Christ after their salvation experience.
Historical studies show us that James was probably writing his letter before Paul’s work was recorded. James, who was more than likely the brother of Jesus Christ was older than Paul and they may not have met till after James had written this letter. They were addressing different congregations, however, both authors may have had reason to believe their letters would be read widely by early believers. While the initial audiences’ locations and circumstances likely differed they would also have...

We are entering one of the most dangerous times of the year for families. Christmas is approaching and unfortunately the reason for the season gets lost as retail marketing ramps up. Christmas is an important holiday, it is the day we mark the birth of Jesus Christ. There is no greater cause for celebration than the entry of the Son of God into the world. Without Christ’s birth there would be no death on the cross and no resurrection, which would mean no salvation for us, no eternity to look forward to, no future hope for humanity. Christmas is therefore a good season to give gifts, but only because it is in remembrance of the greatest gift of all. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).



For businesses it is a time of hope also, as many small retailers finally look to get out of the red and enter the black. On a financial balance sheet red represents running at a loss, not selling enough to meet all the costs associated with running a business and hence failing to break-even. It represents stress, worry and oppression because businesses can’t survive by being constantly in the red, especially small businesses. So “giving seasons”, of which Christmas is the greatest, represent an opportunity to get back into the black, that is to go beyond break-even and start to record profits in their earnings. Some retailers only make a profit over the Christmas season and so have to make enough to survive for the rest of the year on the seasonal profits ahead. It is becoming even harder for small retailers as we all go to the big stores to get our shopping done all at once, or logon to the online giants to avoid risking catching the pandemic at the local mall. Some of this is the reality of life, not everything we want to buy is available locally, however, lets face it, some of it is, if we take the time to look.



Moving from business to people though this is a season of great danger to families. Futures and destinies are affected by what people do with their money as we enter this season of sales. This is because debt-based poverty is a form of enslavement, if you have ever been truely poor you will know that poverty places restrictions on people’s abilities to make choices and live their life to the full. Debt-based poverty increases this to even more severe levels. “…the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). One of the ways that poverty and especially debt-based poverty enslaves people is by taking away their hope. As an extreme example of this: for the person earning less than the repayments on their loans the mountain is only growing, and their ability to climb it is decreasing by the day. At which point will they decide it is better to simply jump off the edge into the abyss?



Hope deferred makes the heart sick (Proverbs 12:12), and for many the marketing season of Christmas is the living out of this process: ads create false hope of a longing being fulfilled, but the resulting debt is a deferral of the real longing, and as scripture warned us, this makes the heart sick. You see hope is stirred in this time of intense advertising and serious bargain bashing, which seems to start earlier every year! We see the messages portrayed to us in the flashy brochures, the screen ads, the highway billboards and we start to believe we can have all the material possessions we want! We can even give them away to others! It is in this time that our eyes take over from our God-given common sense. Our personal finances move from the positive black to the negative red, debt climbs higher as our desires grow greater. Even our generosity becomes a stumbling block as our use of credit well exceeds our bank balance. We want to get the best gifts, and we want to give the best gifts. Our motivation isn’t purely selfish,

“There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” Deuteronomy 1:31



Father’s Day has just been, here in New Zealand. Yesterday, thousands of fathers like myself received gifts, and much treasured homemade cards and pictures, from our children and spouses. It is a day when people are thankful for the people God has put around them. For myself I am very blessed and grateful for my family. Thankful for the unexpected “Happy Father’s Day!” text from my eldest son who was on a camping trip, for the colourful picture of the family drawn by my daughter, and for the clever flag and boat gift wrapping my younger son made for the cup he gave me. We started the day with a delicious breakfast of pancakes made by the children with help from my lovely wife, and its not just my generation we celebrate on Father’s Day, my brothers and sisters and their families came for lunch, along with my parents, so that we could celebrate Grandpa on this day as well.



Father’s Day this year was a great time with family, but it had some sad moments too, as I remembered my children who have already passed on into glory. Tears came to my eyes as I heard the song about the dad whose daughter is getting married today. This songs always makes me think about what it would be like if my other little girl (who went home to Heaven many years ago now) was here. And, then the tears become a flood as I see the picture of my teenage son (who passed just over a year ago now) on the sideboard. There is sadness, yes, but there is also hope, because I know for certain that we will be reunited with these two loved ones beyond the veil. It is the separation of waiting that is hard.



Looking ahead to the future awakens a longing to see loved ones again, but I know the present time needs me now. As a father, my children who are here in this world with me need guidance, they need encouragement, they need an example – even an imperfect one. As parents, both fathers and mothers, we don’t need to be perfect to fill the vital role we play in the lives of our children, whether they are related by blood to us or not. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” When we read this proverb from the start we see that it is the moral education of the children which is being referred to here, and that this is the responsibility of parents. Some children don’t have their own parents to teach them about life and doing the right thing, these children need someone to step in and pick up that mantel for them. Maybe this is something you can do for a child near you?



God is gracious and he provides opportunities for people to come into his presence throughout their life, but the initial and primary way that God intends for children to learn about him is through the parents he gives them. Parents have the God-given role of passing on the knowledge of eternity to their children. The parents of a child set the first, and potentially most lasting and powerful example, of what Christian faith is. We can show our children how living for God is the ultimate purpose of every person on this earth, regardless of what that life looks like as a unique individual.



Sometime ago I was listening to a speaker called Jeff Benner and he pointed out that the Hebrew word for Father (אָב), originally meant “strength of the tent,” which in practical terms describes the “tent pole” holding the shelter up. Within this word the Hebrew letter א (aleph) represented an ox and the letter ב (vet) a tent. The resulting term “strength of the tent,” is a visual picture of the role of a parent. Tough times come to every family, and the job of a father is to help the family through it,

If you have ever been through sustained turmoil, whether it be the loss of those you love, poverty, lengthy sickness, consuming fear, or any other of life’s troubles, you will understand the sense of hopelessness that people experience in these times. The overwhelming shadow of oppression is like a net that traps its victim, it tangles them up and hems them in restricting their every attempt to believe that things can once again be better than they are now.



The authors of a number of Psalms write of circumstances similar to these, but perhaps even through their writing, they are able to encourage themselves and convince themselves again of God’s goodness. It is a process we see repeated several times in the Psalms, where the author of a passage begins to describe their situation and show how vulnerable they are to the dangers around them. Yet, through the process of reflection, time and again we see that they are able to remind themselves of God’s graceful sovereignty and his willingness to bless them.



Reflecting on their knowledge of God, and his scriptures they are able to calm their mind and see the eternal reality of their situation. This is often a very different view from the one their sight, hearing, touch and emotions are showing them. This knowledge, that God is for them, becomes both a comfort and a shield to them. Their mind and their resolve is strengthened as they place their trust again in the hand of our living God.



For this reason the writer of Psalm 27 is able to say, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:13-14).



Sometimes the sheer pressure of being in a difficult situation can cause us to act impulsively, but sometimes the opposite happens; we become so burdened and trapped that it seems we cannot do anything. The sense of hopelessness suffocates us into immobility. The psalmist addresses both these reactions with the advice to, “Wait for the LORD…” and, while waiting, “…be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”



This is what the psalmists do, they wait on the LORD. They do this by honestly detailing the situation, acknowledging that they cannot deal with the situation themselves, asking God for help and then allowing him to act in whatever way he chooses. Voicing this process, whether it be on paper, in silent communion with God, or out loud does not matter as much as doing it. For this process gives them the chance to be encouraged; for their deep feelings of oppression to start to turn to hope. It also allows God himself to intervene perhaps mostly poignantly by ministering to the heart of the person.



Acting to get oneself out of difficulty is not always possible, but waiting on the LORD is, even when we don’t feel like it. Waiting on Him is a very worthwhile and wise thing to do. Trusting God may be the last thing you feel like doing in these most challenging of situations, but if you will allow him, God will help give you the strength to trust him. Sometimes we simply have to allow ourselves to wait for the LORD, so that he himself can help us get to the point where we are able to say, ““I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”



So today I recommend taking the time to prepare for the difficult times in your life by tucking away in your mind the simple process for trusting God, and that is recorded in the verse: “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:13).

As Christ is preparing to die on the cross he leaves his disciples with a number of encouraging statements. These are recorded in John chapter 14. One of them is, “…the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” John 14:26-27.



You may have noticed that the dove is the symbol of both the Holy Spirit and of peace, but have you ever wondered why they both have the same image? The answer is found in the passage above, and here we see that the Holy Spirit, and peace, are both intricacy linked together. In these verses John relates to us how Jesus told his disciples that not only was the Father sending the Holy Spirit to guide them as believers, but Christ also gave his own gift of peace to his followers. This peace was given through collaboration of the triune Godhead, that is; God the Father sent the Holy Spirit, who in turn became the conduit of the peace that flows from Christ, the Son of God, to those who believe in him.



When this happened Jesus Christ was preparing to go to the cross in humanity’s place. The only begotten Son of God was about to take upon himself the penalty of sin which was weighing on us as fallen people. When this was completed Christ rose again. Then, after appearing to many of his followers, he ascended to Heaven. The third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, then continued Jesus’ ministry on earth and is still doing so today. The Holy Spirit took up the roles of advocate and teacher that Christ had fulfilled in his earthly days. And, one of the most potent realities of the presence of the Holy Spirit with us is the peace that is given in direct fulfilment of Christ’s gift to us.



This peace is a gift. It is a constant that remains for us to receive as often as necessary whenever we acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus knew that we would have trouble in this world (John 16:33), and his response to that was complete. He has gone ahead to prepare a better place for us in the presence of the God the Father (John 14:3), but he has also given us the gift of peace in the present through divine collaboration with the Father and the Holy Spirit.



God is taking care of the future and He is looking after us in the present. The question is whether we are prepared to accept the presence of the Holy Spirit and the peace he can bring into our daily lives?

Lots of money and effort is being spent on trying to find a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. A vaccine would certainly be beneficial and physically save lives. The vaccine alone though is not the cure for the crises we face both now and on the road ahead.



Crises of health, hunger, poverty, loneliness, and depression abound around the world. The true cure for this and future crises to come also involves compassionate acts on our part. Intentionally reaching out to help others in their time of need and loneliness.



Until we care, feed, give, befriend, and encourage those in need, a vaccine for many will simply be a way of prolonging life’s miseries. But a vaccine delivered alongside the practical meeting of people’s needs will change lives for good. Bringing hope and blessings to all creation by the uplifting of humanity around us.



This is being God’s children in the world, and to those who do this,  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40

Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in Summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest.



Proverbs 6:6-8



Instructed here to look to the ant for wisdom, we are given an important lesson through the tiny creature’s diligence. The ant works hard to store up food for its colony. The formations of ants we see marching up our walls and across our table tops are on a mission to bring back as many supplies to their colony as they can.



What has stood out to me this last week though is that the author places the ants activity timewise in the Summer and in the harvest. Is this a picture of a forgotten way of life?



The natural order of things is to work to prepare for the coming of Winter. Planting in Spring, Harvesting in Summer, Storing in Autumn and Resting in Winter.



Hang on?



Resting, in Winter?



Yes, that’s right. If we have prepared well, Winter, with its shorter days, and colder weather is the natural time to hole up inside and keep warm and well fed. This isn’t possible though if we have not prepared, if we have not gathered in the harvest and stored up supplies like firewood in advance.



In today’s world we have a leisure and entertainment focus which is, to say the least, unnatural. The natural order is disturbed as we spend our Summers relaxing and seeking out fun activities. So when Winter comes we are unprepared for the shorter days and the wetter, colder weather. Even though we know it is going to happen every year at the same time every year we are distracted and we end up spending the Winter trying to find supplies in the worst time of year to be doing it!



Ok, now I know life is different in today’s modern world, I understand that for many people Summer is the best time to take their holidays, in fact many workplaces expect people to take their holidays then. Life is different, getting food for some is as easy as calling the delivery person, heating is as easy as remembering to pay the electricity and gas bills. The truth in the developed world at least, is that today’s modern world cocoons us from the natural patterns of the seasons.



However, then… there is the spiritual realm and the spiritual seasons of our lives. Being cocooned from seasons in the natural, we fail to understand the nature of seasons altogether. We neglect the fact that there is going to be Winter and Summer, Spring and Autumn. The comforts of modern life, might be able to spare us experiencing the elemental aspects of a natural Winter, but they cannot spare us from experiencing the elemental aspects of a spiritual Winter.



In a spiritual Summer, things feel like they are coming together, there is a sense of easiness to things, church is good, friends are close and maybe even actively encouraging us. We feel like and appear to be prospering. In a spiritual Winter, things feel more difficult, sometimes even foreboding, weariness is present and, for many a sense of isolation kicks in.



Just as in the natural the Winter season is the time to rest, in the spiritual Winter season it is the time to rest, the time to stay in one place, avoid major life decisions, review the encouragements of Summer, and simply let God minister to you.



In your spiritual Winter read the Bible, walk with God, listen to the Spirit and allow your heart to mourn for the sad things in life so that the Son has an opportunity to uplift you. Our Lord Jesus Christ understands sorrow, he is acquainted with grief and as such he is able to connect with those who mourn (Isaiah 53:3). In these times he can encourage us gently as one who shares our experie...

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! Matthew 25:24-26a.



In the parable of the talents a wealthy man gives three servants specific amounts of money to looked after while he is gone. The servants who are given five and two talents both used the money in such a way that they were able to double their master’s money. The master is pleased with this and on his return rewards the two diligent servants. The other servant however, took the single talent he was given and buried it, confessing a fear of losing it and facing his master’s wrath. The master is displeased with this approach, he expected this servant to use the money in such a way that it would bring increase in value, just like the former two servants did. So the third servant is instead rebuked and loses the money he has been given to look after.



There is much that can be learnt from this story, but in this brief thought I want to point out that one of the most interesting aspects of this parable of the talents is often missed. That is; the fact that the value of a talent in Jesus day was 6000 drachma, and the value of a drachma was one days wage for a labourer. This means that the average working class person would have to work for 6000 days to earn one single talent. That is more than 16 years worth of work! In reality though in order to save this much they would have work many years more, as it would almost all be eaten up by the daily cost of living.



Knowing this helps to understand the level of responsibility given to the servants while the master was gone. It also explains why the servant’s action of hiding the talent in the ground was not an unnatural thing to do. The risk of losing the money entirely or of reducing the amount through bad investments was very real.



The master’s expectation though is that the risk be taken anyway, that the servant attempt to use the very substantial amount of money given to him to increase the master’s holdings.



God has given us all specific talents, resources, and other gifting. Using them does involve risk, but God’s expectation is that we find a way to use them which builds his kingdom and his family. Perhaps we have an advantage over the servant in the parable though, because Christ is willing to lead us in this through the leading of his Holy Spirit and we have the Word of God to guide us. The risk though remains and so we if we are to use our God-given talents and resources we must exercise our faith in the God who entrusted us with them. Knowing that, just as the parable says in verse fifteen, God has given to each of us according to our ability. He knows us, he knows what he has entrusted to us. His expectations are in line with what he has given us, for on this earth all we have is Gods, and in the light of eternity God is all we have.

…therefore thus says the Lord GOD, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation… Isaiah 28:16



Until, 1799 archaeologists and historians had struggled to understand Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics as they had no comparison with known languages. However, in that year a piece of Granodiorite was discovered which changed everything. The stone is called the Rosetta Stone and it had a text carved in three different languages on it: Ancient Egyptian, Demotic, and Ancient Greek. All of sudden archaeologists had a core of representative texts from which they were able to unlock the mystery of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. History came alive because of the discovery of the now legendary Rosetta Stone.



Before Christ came there was a lot of misunderstanding around the law, the prophets and the coming Messiah. When Jesus Christ’s ministry began to become public, the people of Israel’s hope was stirred and gradually many came to believe that this could finally be the Messiah. There was one major problem though… Jesus did not fulfil the expectations of the people.



The followers of Christ expected something quite different than what he actually did. They expected him to liberate them by force from the overlordship of the Roman Empire, and they were bitterly disappointed when he didn’t. They hadn’t understood the true meaning of the scriptures or the historical events that pointed the way to the Son of God’s life on earth.



Christ’s life, didn’t work out the way the people of the age thought it should. Even John the Baptist became confused about the true nature of Christ’s mission and needed confirmation because things were not going the way he thought they would. However, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection were all necessary for the ultimate reveal of the love and forgiveness of God the Father at the cross.



The scriptures of the Old Testament did not change, with the birth of Christ, rather his life presented a new lens through which they could be viewed. Jesus Christ was the Rosetta Stone through which all former scripture now became clear. The former scriptures also become more relevant and their application made more practical sense than it ever had been before, as the grace of God was revealed in the life of his only begotten Son.



In the same way that the life of Christ brought understanding to the reading of the Old Testament scriptures, so the scriptures that were written after Christ’s death are illuminated by Christ’s ongoing life after his resurrection. The Old and New Testament scriptures are brought into unity through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord the Son of God. The Spirit of Christ, that is the Holy Spirit, was sent to guide us into a knowledge of the Father and ultimately into all truth through aiding us in the understanding and insight of the entire Word of God contained within the scriptures. 



Just like an encoded message that needs a key phrase to decipher it the message of the Old Testament scriptures became clear only with the life of Christ and the continuation of understanding needed for reading the New Testament is also made clear by the ongoing presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit with us today. Without the recognition of the pivotal role of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the ongoing guidance of his Holy Spirit, the Word of the Father will remain an undecipherable mystery to us. So if you are struggling today to understand the Word of God and its relevance to your life, allow the life of our Lord Jesus Christ to be the Rosetta Stone which unlocks your understanding of the scripture through the leading of the Holy Spirit and the careful, close study of the Biblical text.

But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.



Jeremiah 34:11



In the thirty-fourth chapter of Jeremiah we find the tragic story of how many among the Israelites went back on their word and re-enslaved their fellow Israelites who they had set free from bondage. This entirely selfish action on the part of so many grieved the heart of God so much that he proclaimed the ruin of the guilty parties.



I will deliver [the leaders of the Israelites] into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.



Jeremiah 34:20



Now how does this apply to us today, surely Christians are not doing this, are they? Well, firstly we have to understand the place of the basic virtues being emphasised in this story. There are quite a few of these, but today I want to focus on three.



The first is the concept of freedom. Before the Israelites repented of their actions they were enslaving their own people, something which Moses, as God’s spokesperson, had allowed them to do on a sort of revolving temporary basis as indeed it states in this same chapter:



‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. 



Jeremiah 34:14



Now, we know from Jesus statement in Matthew 19:8 regarding divorce that simply because Moses allowed something does not mean it was God’s original intention. We won’t get sidetracked on that now though, because what this passage makes clear is that God was not happy that the Israelites were not releasing their own brethren who were their slaves when each seventh year rolled around.



Now this is important, because God’s intention here was not to reinstate the seven year cycle of temporary servitude that the law of Moses allowed, no, now he had had enough.



The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. 



Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.



Jeremiah 34:8-9



His instruction then was for all Israelites to be released from this burden. He wanted his people to be set completely free. He had freed them from Pharaoh years before, now he wanted to free them from themselves. If we look closely though God was bringing not just freedom but also another important state back to his people… he was in fact moving them towards equality.



The Israelites were immediately convicted of the wrong they had done and so they set their fellow Israelites free (Jeremiah 34:10), but for some reason, later on, they changed their minds. Maybe this freeing of their slaves had made life hard for them, because they now had a lack of labour to carry out the jobs they needed, or even just wanted, done. There may have even been other reasons, maybe the sudden system of equality made people feel threatened regarding their status and maybe they didn’t like not being able to tell their brothers and sisters what to do? For whatever reason though they went back and got their fellow Israelites and forced them back into slavery – what a terrible thing to do!



This teaches us that it is possible to repent of good and turn back to evil, but doing this not only wounds the ones who are hurt by this, it enslaves our own soul, as we find ourselves in enslavement to sin and...

Children growing up in a Christian home and being part of the Church is a wonderful thing, but sometimes for those who have grown up in the church the experience of the power of God can seem like a secondhand experience. As second and third generation Christians the exciting journey that the generation before us led often seems distant from what we are living now. Church and living for God is the norm, but it seems to have lost its mystery… lost its pizazz so to speak. It doesn’t have to be like this though. Instead, being a second or third generation Christian can be the basis of a life that is not just exciting, but also more powerful and more effective in its impact for Christ than the first generation’s was. The first generation of Christian believers in our families have broken hard ground, but they have only just started to tap into all that God has for our families. This doesn’t take away from the first generation, instead it adds to the first generation’s honour by pointing out that the generations after them can experience even more of God’s goodness in their lives because of the example the first generation have already set.



It occurred to me that Elijah and the people he anointed are a good example of this in action. In the time of Elijah the main adversary of those seeking to follow the Lord was Jezebel, and the main person who had to deal with the person of Jezebel was Elijah himself. Jezebel specifically came against Elijah because God had given him a prophetic gift that was breaking Jezebel’s power over the kingdom, defeating the false prophets and giving voice to the true Word of God.



Elijah had many victories over Jezebel and the false prophets, but he also had epic failures in his dealings with her, like the time he lost his focus on God and ran away and hid from Jezebel. (Dealing with this murderous queen was a continuous learning experience for Elijah.) While Elijah was hiding God came and reminded Elijah of his anointing, ministry and power (1 Kings 19:9-18). Things that the prophet had because of his relationship with God. At the same time God also told Elijah to anoint two people, one was Jehu who oversaw the killing of Jezebel (2 Kings 9:30-37) and Elisha who would succeed Elijah as prophet after taking on a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. Here we see Elijah lay the foundation for both the ultimate defeat of Jezebel by Jehu, and the fulfilment of Elijah’s prophetic ministry through Elisha. Elisha took up Elijah’s cloak when Elijah was taken up to heaven and under this anointing Elisha walked in an even more miraculous ministry than Elijah had. It is important to remember though that he was able to do this because of the previous breakthroughs that Elijah’s life had already brought about (2 Kings 2:9-14). As a second generation prophet Elisha’s life was not boring, and it certainly wasn’t lacking in experiences of God’s power or mystery.



As second, third, or even further generation believers in Christ we need to remember that we are anointed people of God, like both Elijah and Elisha, we have the anointing to overcome malicious spirits like that of Jezebel. As second and third generation believers we can, like Elisha, walk in more consistent power and authority than the generations before us. This is possible because of the generations before us who have worked hard to remove the barriers and clear the way for us.



Elijah battled Jezebel, Jehu, anointed by Elijah killed Jezebel, while Elisha, also anointed by Elijah, walked in a double anointing of grace and power. As second and third generation believers we can be powerful and effective when we allow ourselves to be led and strengthened by the Lord. We can do this knowing that, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

“Those words shook me deeply. The commissioning of the eagles will take place from the upper room. He will send out the eagles from the upper room filled with fire, marked by the revelation of Jesus, eyes that see with prophetic vision and clarity for this new apostolic era.” Lana Vawser



Its impossible to ignore this prophecy from Lana Vawser when our logo is literally three eagles of fire!



Read the full prophecy on Lana Vawser’s website by clicking here.

There have been a number of prophetic messages following the Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl. Especially in regards to a coming revival in the US. Johnny Enlows message is the best summary of the prophetic messages we have read.



Wow! Chiefs in the last quarter… that was an exciting game!



You can read Johnny Enlow’s prophetic message on his blog which is on the Restore7.org website.

Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’



“Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’ 



“I knew that this was the word of the LORD; so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.” (Jeremiah 32:6-9)



In Jeremiah 32 we find that Jeremiah the prophet is in captivity within the royal palace of Judah. In his imprisonment he continues to prophecy dire consequences for the nation of Judah and its leaders as the result of their rebellion against God.



Outside of the palace the city was besieged at this time by the Babylonian army of King Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 32:1-2). Much to Zedekiah the king of Judah’s dismay Jeremiah was insistent that the conflict with the Babylonians would not end well for the people of Judah if Zedekiah continued to hold out against the invaders. The prophet even foretells Zedekiah’s own captivity at the hands of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 32:3-5).



These foreboding prophecies are interrupted in verse 6 though as Jeremiah tells of something else the Lord has said to him. The Lord God has told Jeremiah that he will have the chance to purchase a field in his home region of Anathoth (Jeremiah 32:6-7). Although verses 6 and 7 do not say the Lord specifically told Jeremiah that he should purchase the land from his kinsperson, we see in verse 8 that this is how Jeremiah interprets the Lord’s revelation to him of this event.



Sure enough, Jeremiah’s kinsperson comes to Jeremiah and lays out the case for Jeremiah to buy the land. This is important to the kinsperson because Jeremiah’s purchase would effectively “redeem” the land, by allowing the family to keep it within the extended family (Jeremiah 32:8). Redemption in this form kept the source of income within the family, both staving off potential poverty for the wider family group and allowing the family to keep their traditions as laid down by the law of Moses and subsequent traditional rites and systems which had grown up around the law.



At this point in the text we have some underlying sub-themes of theological and sociological import to discuss. Firstly, Jeremiah had been previously troubled by people from his own village of Anathoth and, because there was likely only a small population in the area, the group of people troubling him may reasonably be believed to have included his own relatives. So for Jeremiah to become their “kinsman redeemer” presents some interesting relational dynamics. Secondly, Jeremiah makes this purchase while prophesying that the Judaites were about to be driven from their native land. The prophet is effectively publicly investing in the future promises of God, against a backdrop of national loss and failure. In doing this Jeremiah is very much making himself a Noah of his time.



The opening of the book of Jeremiah tells us that the prophet was a priest at Anathoth, which was located approximately 5 kilometres from Jerusalem. So for Jeremiah Anathoth was his home village and we see from the approach of his cousin to Jeremiah that his relatives lived there also.



Earlier in the book we have seen in Jeremiah 11:21-23 that people from Anathoth had been threatening to kill the prophet because of his prophecies, which were seemingly not very popular! At this point the Lord intervenes and speaks to Jeremiah, telling him that these people will be punished and that,

In their book, Introducing the New Testament, Achtemeier, Green and Thompson state that, “…only a small portion of the meaning of any utterance is represented by the words used, whether spoken or written.”  This is because when we communicate with others we utilise a certain amount of pre-knowledge: things that we already know. And we are able to have the conversation with others because they also share at least enough of that pre-knowledge to be able to enter into a discussion with us.



In fact, conversations often revolve around pre-knowlege. When we start a discussion with someone we often start by checking what we both know (e.g. “Did you know that the Chiefs are playing the 49’ers in the Super Bowl?”). Then we move on to telling each other the bits of pre-knowledge one of us has that the other doesn’t and so we learn new knowledge from the other person (e.g. “I hadn’t heard that the Chiefs have got no injuries going into the game”).  In this way our shared knowledge grows and usually as a result of this we grow closer to the other person. As the conversation moves on and we begin to interact more confidently and open up more to each other we start to voice our conclusions about the meaning of the knowledge and give our opinions on the topic as the discussion moves on (e.g. “The Chiefs will have a battle on their hands to beat the 49’ers, but there is a chance they could do it if…”). Conversations are then a fairly complex way of interacting, but imagine how complex they would be if we did not have any shared pre-knowledge!



As a result of our pre-knowledge we are able to speak using terms that others around us understand, it is often the result of a shared history. For example, when we speak of the current President of the United States, we speak at the time they are in office and knowing who they are, hence we use simplified terms of reference like, “The President is in Israel”. At the time of writing this that statement means: The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, is in Israel.



When we speak of a past president though we have to give more contextual information, in order for listeners to be able to work out which president we are talking about, because there have been 53 presidents of the US to date! Hence, the names of presidents are linked closely to the dates they hold office (e.g. we can speak of the Jeffersonian era). This is because, in order for the audience to know which past president a speaker is referring to they have to give enough context for the listener to place that president. The easiest way to do this is either to name them or give the year in question. The second option though assumes that the listener has a good grasp of US history!



This combination of pre-knowledge and shared knowledge that we refer to today (almost subconsciously) in our conversations and interactions with others would have been mirrored in the early Christian community. Each group of believers had a shared knowledge specific to their time, situation and place in history. When the New Testament authors wrote they were writing to an audience they knew something about, and so they made certain assumptions about how their information would be received and understood. And, importantly for us today, they left out information, not because it wasn’t important, but simply because, they did not feel they needed to repeat it for their intended audience.



The pre-knowledge of the early church likely holds many keys to the interpretation of the scripture, and if we could place ourselves in the shoes of the intended first recipients of these writings we would probably be surprised at the changes that take place to our perception of the meaning and implementation of scripture in people’s lives.



There are a number of things we can learn from this r...

I thought it would be helpful to clarify the difference between the biblical use of the term “deliverance” and the more modern term “deliverance ministry”. These two terms are not interchangeable, and have very different meanings and applications from each other. I will start with the Biblical term because it is by the most important, both from a Christian belief standpoint and from a practical perspective in regards to living the Christian life successfully, but I will also visit briefly what modern deliverance ministries are referring to. This will at the very least help us to identify when each may or may not be necessary, as one of our present day problems is the assumption that deliverance ministry is necessary more often than it is in reality needed.



Believing you need what is referred to nowadays as deliverance ministry when you don’t can be harmful to your faith, both because you will be discouraged when deliverance ministry doesn’t work and because it leaves you vulnerable to false prophets and charlatans. If instead, you can identify that you need biblical deliverance you will be empowered to seek out true prophets and Godly spiritual ministries for prayer and support. So lets see if we can clear things up a bit with this article!



Biblical Deliverance: The Godly Rescue Plan



Biblical deliverance is not the casting out of demons, instead it is the rescuing of believers from evil circumstances and the negative influence of people, events and environments which afflict them. There are many examples in the Bible of this, from Moses being used to deliver the Israelites from slavery, through to Noah and his family being delivered from the flood, Daniel being delivered from the lion’s den, Paul and John being delivered from prison and Jesus being delivered from the angry crowds. Many more examples can be found in the pages of the Bible. This is the type of deliverance that Jesus asks for when he prays, “…And lead us not to temptation but deliver us from evil, for yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory” in Matthew 6:13.



The Koine Greek word translated here as “deliverance” is ῥύομαι (rhyomai) which effectively means “to rescue from danger, save, rescue, deliver, preserve someone”(BDAG, p.907). It is a meaning which recognises the complete power and sovereignty of God to intervene in earthly situations, particularly in regards to bringing them out of the situation.



Lot’s Situation: A Biblical Illustration of Deliverance



The biblical example which best illustrates how this sort of deliverance differs from the modern ministry of the same name is the story of Lot and his family escaping Sodom. Looking back at this event from the New Testament era the author of 2 Peter 2:7-9 says, “…and if he [God] rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials…”



The biblical author’s insight, which they share with us in this passage, is that Lot was living under constant spiritual attack because of the evil influences operating inside the city of Sodom within which he lived. However, unlike the other townspeople, Lot himself had not fallen into sin, so Lot remained righteous in the sight of God.



We also should note that Lot had Abraham interceding for him as well, fervently covering him in a prayer of protection. (In practice Abraham interceded for the whole city, but the people of the city had made their own choices, as did Lot’s wife when after being delivered she decided to turn back.) This prayer of covering that Abraham prayed for Lot and his town is one important way t...

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.



Psalm 150:3-6



I was listening to Sam Leith’s interview of Paul Kildea on the Spectator Books podcast while I was driving. Their discussion turned to some of the reasons that Chopin’s 24 Preludes probably sounded very different when played today compared to when he played them on his piano’s, while composing them, one of which was simply a small composition pianino. One reason for the difference in sound is that the production quality of keyboard instruments is much more standardized today, so that notes played the same way on several different pianos will sound roughly equal, especially when compared to three different pianofortes, in Chopin’s day.



The other reason is related but a bit more complex in nature. There is, I found while I was listening to the podcast, an aspect of music called temperament, further investigation showed me that this is basically a musical tuning term. Today, most of our music uses equal temperament, but it seems equal temperament is not an ancient thing.



I don’t know a lot about musical science, but my somewhat simplistic understanding of temperament begins with the knowledge that when you tune an instrument you are trying to get it play a particular note. You do this so that when you take a particular action you hear a preset, or expected, note… rather than a random one. Ideally you want your modern day instrument to play 12 notes in each octave because that is how much the science of sound physics, combined with the preference of the human ear, seems to identify as being present. To achieve this the maker and tuner of the instrument have to manipulate the distance between various splits of the scale, specifically the thirds and fifths. This may all sound very complicated, but what it essentially means is that, in order to have a reliable way of striking the note they want, the musician needs their instrument to manipulate the octave range somehow to improve their chances both of hitting the note and have it sounding in tune to the human ear. Simply put, they need to gain control over the vibration range in a reliable, and repeatable, way.



Prior to certain manufacturing technology it was very difficult and expensive to produce a wide range of notes accurately on an instrument with multiple octaves. In Chopin’s day this was usually worked around by something referred to as “meantone temperament.” In other words, the craftsman worked hard to make sure that there was at least one, or some, octaves of the pianoforte whose notes were particularly accurate, while notes outside of this were less accurate. This is especially true for smaller keyboard instruments like the small pianino that Chopin used to finish his 24 Preludes. The composer and player then used the reliable range of notes as the main areas of musical composition and play, avoiding moving outside of this unless necessary or for effect. This would have given a slightly “on edge” feel to notes played outside the scale and introduced an element of risk to their playing, because there was no guarantee the note would be hit cleanly and in tune. It would be somewhere near it, but not as fully in tune as our modern ears prefer. So music as played by Chopin himself, who played as he composed on his pianino, (and who I understand is likely to have been moving outside the reliable range of his little pianino a fair bit,) was likely to have sounded to us quite unstable, unnerving in its unpredictability and rather haunting.



Gradually though the arrival of the ability to produce equal temperament on European key...

“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.”



John 16:1



Here Jesus is referring to his previous teaching of the disciples, specifically to his teaching in the previous chapter in which he prepares his disciples for persecution to come. Jesus knows he will not always be with his disciples in the flesh, because he knows his time of self-sacrifice is coming. He is able to put that aside though to take time to prepare his followers for the trials they will face. In this action we see an important leadership trait being demonstrated, that of the enablement of others to continue on in their mission without the leader being present. It is more than succession planning. In fact in some ways it is not even remotely like succession planning as taught in leadership and business courses. For Christ this is not about making sure someone is in place to protect his legacy. You see Jesus isn’t just training replacements to continue his current work, he is training people to go beyond what he did without needing him to be physically present and doing the work. Now I realise that there is some semantics in play here, because in actual fact he is going to send the Holy Spirit to be with them, guide them and work collaboratively with them. However, the main point is Jesus will not be physically present with them and so the disciples will need to become the hands that carry out the work of the Lord in the flesh. Where Jesus would have reached out to heal now the disciples will need to reach out their hands and allow the Holy Spirit to use them to bring healing, where Jesus tore down and destroyed the works of evil, the disciples will need to act in collaboration with the Holy Spirit to destroy and tear down the works of evil.



Now unlike in the past this isn’t just a temporary arrangement (e.g. Luke 9:1-10), this will be an ongoing arrangement for the rest of their lives.



Jesus doesn’t want his followers to simply carry on his legacy though, no, in fact Jesus isn’t interested in legacies for himself. He came to set the past right, to return people to his Father, and so he is actually interested in creating a future for all people. He wants his disciple to create something new as his agents in this world, he has something for them to do that he has not yet done, in essence he wants them to build a church, as he said to Peter,



“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”



Matthew 16:18



 At this point in the biblical account Jesus is already the disciples’ inspiration but he does not want to become their limitation, he is already their strength but he does not want to become their achilles heel. So he is passing on the responsibility of being the “face” of the work of God on earth to them. Unless Jesus went his disciples would not have stepped forward to be the primary deliverers of hope on earth, unless Jesus left the disciples could not have learnt to walk in the full extent of their authority as both children of God and followers of Christ. They had become followers of Christ already, now it was time for them to take up the authority that came with being children of God. So Christ was going, primarily to restore humanity to God, but a result of that restored relationship was the ability of people to connect with the Spirit of God, and so Christ was sending his Spirit to lead his disciples into truth through relationship with him. The Holy Spirit would allow the disciples, and the Christian church after them, to be the visible helping and healing hands of God on earth through the victorious power of Jesus’ redeeming blood. So Jesus said to them,



“I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away,

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1



As I write this in New Zealand the roses are blooming in people’s gardens and the rose garden at the cemetery is looking particularly splendid. As I was walking among the cemetery’s rose garden today it occurred to me, as I know it has to many others, that working with roses is sometimes an apt illustration for working with people.



Roses have thorns that prick and poke when you are working amongst them, making tasks like pulling weeds from among carpet roses a painful process. As plants they are often prone to various diseases and attacks by aphids which require regular spraying and yet they are also remarkably robust plants and tend to grow strongly, so require regular and fairly heavy pruning. Well that is about all my knowledge of growing roses exhausted!



There is one thing that struck me especially today though, and that is that while the roses are in bloom now and look fantastic, largely due to the work that has been put in by the cemetery caretakers, for much of the year the roses don’t look like this. In fact for several months all you see in this garden is thorns, branches and some leaves, but that doesn’t mean the plants are unhealthy, no, instead all it means is that it is not time for the bushes to bloom. The flowers will come, if we don’t let the thorns and barren branches put us off looking after the plant and giving it what it needs.



So when we are working with those sometimes grumpy and unpredictable creatures called people, lets remember that just because sometimes its hard work and it seems we are taking more pricks from thorns than anything else, if we keep tending to their care in due season those people will flourish and bloom just like the magnificent roses I saw today.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1.



It is winter here in New Zealand and consequently a lot of the trees in the backyard have lost their leaves. I was looking out at our backyard and noticed that in one of those leafless trees was a couple of missing toys clearly visible. They likely have sat there for most of the previous summer unnoticed, because when the tree was in leaf they were invisible. With the branches bare of leaves though the toys, in this case a rugby ball and a large water gun, are clearly visible. This made me think about seasons in our spiritual lives.



Winter in the natural is a time when the leaves drop from deciduous trees and growth slows right down, but as a result it is an easier time to clean up in the backyard. If you wrap up and brave the cold you can find that there is less wild green growth hiding the broken fences or damaged edges that might need fixing and misplaced toys and garden tools begin to reappear as the greenery dies back, allowing us to collect and reclaim them. In our spiritual lives there are also seasons where the bustle of growth and blossom is stripped away and we come face to face with cracks in the edges of our spiritual garden that we couldn’t see before. During these times though we are also reminded of useful and sometimes valuable tools we have forgotten God has made available to us.



So if you are going through a spiritual winter, don’t just concentrate on the cold, the damp, and the wind, instead, take the time to look around and see what is being shown to you in this season. God may be clearing away the clutter in order for you to have time and space to address the damaged edges in your life, enabling you to work with him to build new and stronger boundaries to your spiritual garden. He also may be showing you lost or forgotten tools, strengths, or even joys, that you have the right to reclaim as a child of God. So look around in your spiritual winter and see what it is that God is wanting to do in your life during this time.