As a young Christian, it is understandable for there to be difficulty in our walk with Christ. This is one reason why maturity is important. As a child it can be easy to be swayed by careers, marriage, friends and so much more. As young Christians, how can we can we make the most of life whilst keeping our eyes focused on Christ?
Success doesn’t equal evil
As Christians, it is important for us to understand that success in this world does not equal evil. Yes it is true God wants us to live and have eternal life in the world to come. However, He doesn’t speak ill about success. What He does speak ill about however, is the misuse of the success He has gifted us. King David, the man after God’s heart was a successful man, as was King Solomon – and yet they were still counted as people of God. God graced Job with double of everything that was taken away from him (Job 42:10), is this not an example of earthly success?
To have a goal set for our future doesn’t mean that we will or should love God any less. If He is at the centre, first and last in our hearts, all that we do will be for Him.
Refocus your eyes
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:2
To be practical in your walk with Christ is also of importance. This doesn’t just mean making time tables for when you will read your Word, or scheduling times to pray – our works can only get us so far. Instead we should reframe our focus. We need to realise we need God to live not just to become successful; setting our minds on the things above and not the things of this Earth (Col 3:2). This doesn’t mean you should forget the future ahead of you, but rather that you should not allow them to become the joy of your life. Regardless of career, marriage, life itself – your joy should always reside in God. This is because joy is not found in the things of the world, but in the Living Word Himself. At the end of the day, it is okay not to have everything because our life is in Christ, and He is everything.
Trust in the Lord
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
The taunts of life will come and go, it’s a never-ending cycle. The aim of life however should not be on things which will fade away (i.e. our career, success, our romantic relationships or money). The aim is to set our eyes on Christ, to lean on Him in everything and to trust Him wholeheartedly. As we do this, He promised to make our paths straight, to make us secure in the purpose He has given to us. The God who is capable of making the heavens and earth in 6 days is more than capable of making our lives honourable before Him. This is not to say that we should be complacent, rather it should be a reminder that in our past, present and future; our successes and failures are guided by the One in whom we can find our ultimate joy.
Our duty as Christians is not to merely have friendships with each other but to dive deeper into the life of another through fellowship. We should make an effort to avoid shallow friendships that do nothing to grow the other in their faith. Can we really be a true friend if we neglect faith-filled fellowship?
Fellowship meets Friendship
Fellowship with our friends is more than meetings on a Sunday or bible study. It should be integrated into every encounter, including our Friday night dinners, Saturday brunches and match day Sundays. When we meet with our friends who profess the same faith, do we consciously discuss faith, spiritual journeys and Christ, or do we leave that to specific times on a specific day, like Sunday after church? We need to make a habit of praying together, encouraging one another, and sharing the Word in our friendship groups. The two need not be separate as they can be more fruitful when combined.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near
Hebrews 10:24-25
This verse refers to the meeting of believers to discuss things pertaining to the faith. However, the Scripture does not specifically refer to a certain type of gathering or a Sunday service. Fellowship does not have to take place in a church or church setting. We can decide to move our fellowship meetings or bible studies to sociable areas. Prayer and reading of the word can be done after a meal shared among believers as they did in Acts 2:42;
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Acts 2:42
Christ at the Centre
Many of us desire close and intimate friendships as much as we desire fellowship with other believers. It would be a blessing to create scenarios to foster both types of relationships. Sadly, we may find ourselves surrounded by many acquaintances with few we can really call friends. Characteristics of a friend will differ between individuals and we usually seek a mutual understanding with another before creating a friendship. Thankfully, amongst believers, we have a commonality in Christ. This is a great foundation for developing deeper connections.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common;
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes; they received their food with glad and generous hearts”
Acts 2:44 & 46
Here are a few helpful things we can do to create fellowship where genuine Christ-centred friendships can be born:
Start with the people already in our life – there will be believers we already have fellowship with or friends we want to create a deeper connection with; start with them.
Schedule an event – this could be a coffee morning, a prayer walk or a weekend bible study, choose one event and plan; better yet, we can invite a friend to a pre-existing event/organisation.
Make it regular – the best way to continue to remain in communion with others is to ensure the meetings are regular enough to continuously build the relationship. We can try once a month to start and ensure we do not leave it too long.
Enjoy the process – ultimately, the gathering of fellow believers should be joyful, full of gladness and leave our hearts encouraged, ready to declare the good news of Christ (Colossians 2:2).
Deeper Friendships
Essentially, there needs to be a balance between ‘enjoyment’ and faith-based gatherings in our friendships. When we meet with our friends, instead of discussing the latest news, sporting event or pop culture reference, we can use the time to pray. Our usual times on facetime, zoom calls or over the phone can turn to a time of focused prayer, even for as little as 30 minutes. Equally, a nice outing to a restaurant can be extended to include moments of bible study, or exhortation. This should be done on occasion to maintain the seriousness of these types of gatherings. Nevertheless, whatever the event, we can ensure we have meaningful conversations whilst enjoying ourselves.
At the end of the day, we can choose to talk for hours on temporary topics, for momentary satisfaction, or we can commune in the presence of God together for a lasting impact. The choice is ours. The wise King Solomon in Proverbs says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Without question, the type of interactions we have will determine the nature of the friendships we keep.
The church is going through trials and exposure in how it is failing in taking care of its sheep, cracks are becoming apparent, and one could think, “Can the church still stand after receiving so many blows?” The simple answer is yes. Nothing is new under the sun, for years the church has experienced persecution but also where sheep have gone astray and there has been strife amongst members. Yet the gospel message still prevailed, God still empowered people to live for Him through His Spirit and most importantly, Christians would unite to pray together. My question for you is, do you pray for the church? For your leaders? Each and every member of the body of Christ needs covering for we do not fight against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6).
Devote yourself to prayer
In Colossians 4:2 it says “devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,” the devil is tenaciously looking for a foothold, an opportunity to dismantle the body of Christ and create division. With news about misconduct within the church such as child abuse, adultery amongst pastors and worship leaders or manipulation of church members to receive more tithes for personal gain- it can be discouraging. Yet it is important for us to remember that as human beings “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus,” (Romans 3:23-24). So when the Bible says to walk habitually in the Spirit, scriptures such as 1 Peter 5:2-3 and 1 Timothy 2:1-4 are useful in regards to interceding on behalf of people; but they also give direction on being a good steward of the position you carry within a church.
Praying for the church to stand in the midst of adversity
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
John 15:18-19
Outside of misconduct within the church, there are people who wish for the demise of the Church. That may sound hard hitting but sadly this is true. Whether that is other faith groups or politicians, not everyone is open the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the great commission. Only recently we experienced the COVID pandemic which initially meant church buildings were closed and the congregation was separated. Yet we proved that although the church building was shut, the church was VERY much still alive and active. Going forward there may be new government rules/laws which could test and challenge our faith as Christians in the area of education, healthcare and business yet in this we must remain firm.
Let us remember…
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Pray for the persecuted church: The body of Christ worldwide
Persecuted Christians:
Worldwide Christians are killed because of their faith, places of worship are attacked and our fellow brothers and sisters in faith are unjustly arrested or imprisoned some even abducted; yet their faith in Jesus remains even to the point of death.
Christian Freedom International and Open Doors are examples of organisations in the UK who help persecuted Christians. Their work in helping these Christians has involved:
training Christians and church leaders to support them through the trauma they may have suffered
providing advice and support to Christians who have been victims of disaster
speaking on behalf of Christians to help raise awareness of the situation they are in
Below are a few prayer points for the persecuted church you can include during your prayer time:
Pray for justice to prevail and that Christians would be granted freedom to worship without persecution.
Pray for Christians in Kaduna Nigeria, who experience unfair treatment.
Pray for Christians in China who are constantly under surveillance in church, and crosses and other Christian imagery have been replaced with pictures of President Xi Jinping and national flags.
Pray for Christians in India who are attacked and harassed for their faith and foreign funding of Christian-run hospitals, schools and church organisations has been blocked.
These are just a few examples of martyrdom all around the world for the sake of Jesus Christ, as a body let us pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that God will infuse them with courage and transcendent peace in these challenging times. Most importantly, that they would keep eternity in mind, where they will be able to live forever in the presence of their heavenly Father. Let us also pray for people within our church and leaders, that we would be Christians who live a life worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1).
Summer 2021 is highly anticipated; COVID-19 put a stop to plans last year and everyone is itching to get back to a way of normality. Where people have been ‘locked down’ and unable to socialise or go out, there is a massive hype for what this year may bring. This may present challenging scenarios when it comes to living in a way which is pleasing to God and keeping our witness as a priority. The question remains; how do we enjoy ourselves this summer?
Can we still enjoy summer this year?
As Christians, our mission is to spread the gospel and tell people the good news! Matthew 28:19 reminds us that sharing the good news of the gospel isn’t simply a suggestion. It’s a command that Jesus set out for us. This therefore should be at the forefront of all we do, every day and every season of the year in every opportunity presented to us. Each day brings different challenges; temptations will never be too far away. This life is a battle and we may want to have a carefree summer in this world, thinking it will ease our mind from these worries. And while it might – we can’t afford to be off-guard as temptations can lead us astray and ruin our witness with unbelievers. Our primary aim is making Christ known and we can’t exchange that for few brief moments of summer’s pleasure.
‘Hot girl summer’ is a phrase which is currently being spun nonstop on social media, and it has many connotations attached. The expression is connected with an explicit song, and promotes going out, being our authentic selves without judgement. This comes with things of the world attached and arguably things we shouldn’t involve ourselves in as Christians. The phrase sits beside ‘living your best life’ – but there is no better life than walking with Jesus. It is not about ‘rules or regulations’ but the renewing of our minds. When we apply our hearts to understanding and hearing the voice of God (Proverbs 2:2) our natural functions change – just as the heart works to filter out waste products from our blood, God will reshape our lives. It is like seeing through new eyes, those things that others deem as fun or we potentially used to enjoy ourselves will no longer be appealing. The world is truly full of empty happiness and promises; there is a ‘God-shaped’ hole in our hearts which simply cannot be filled with anything else.
Living for the audience of one
God calls us to be set apart, for we are not seeking approval of this world.
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is good, pleasing, and the perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2
This bible verse, along with many others reminds us to look to God rather than looking at the world. As we go through our journey with Christ, the decisions we make are formed with a greater understanding of what is right and wrong.
We can still enjoy ourselves
So, ultimately should we involve ourselves in the trends of the summer? It does not say in the Word that we can’t have fun. God wants us to be joyful and be a witness to those around us. We cannot hide away from the world; we need to be among people so we have the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. We must be bold as we live out our faith, showing unbelievers that we are the salt and light of this world all while we enjoy our summer.
Has anyone noticed that we are in a season where everyone is moving so fast? There is this weight and expectation placed on people, especially youth and young people, to have it all figured out at a certain age. If you don’t have it figured out, you’re seen as a “wasteman”, irresponsible or not worthy. We’re so focused that there is no time to just pause. So how can we make time to be still?
Everyone is hustling and working so hard to meet up with the expectations placed on us. We have become so focused on making more money and meeting our goals, that we’ve forgotten how to pause sometimes and live in the moment.
Why are we in such a hurry?
From the moment we begin education to the moment we retire, there is this expectation placed on us. We are expected to graduate with good grades, get a job, get married, and have children. The man-made timeline may differ for men and women, but at the end of the day, the pressure exists.
It’s funny because the pressure never leaves. There is always something new to push for, a new goal to attain and a new dream to chase. Think about it, there is always something to pray for or ask for. Even if we all have different goals and dreams, we’re always steadfastly working towards them without taking a breather or pausing.
We don’t want to disappoint the people around us, and we don’t want to be pitied or made fun of. It’s either hustle now, so you can meet or exceed the standards, or be thought of as less.
There’s no problem with having dreams and having goals, the issue begins when we forget to pause and be still.
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Why do we need to be still?
It’s important that we take a minute to rest because we follow a model and that model is God.
And on the seventh day, God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Genesis 2:2
The God who created us took a break. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, yet he took a break. God rested on the seventh day. We may want to argue that God finished His work before He rested, but God’s work is still not finished. God is with us daily and listens to us daily. It is a continuous thing for God in the same way life is continuous for us.
We live in a world where everybody hits different milestones. In the process of trying to achieve certain goals, it’s very important to enjoy the moment and live. Because in the process of rushing to achieve, we lose out on life and the gifts God has in store for us.
Rushing and working can also cause lethargy. When you are constantly on the move, it leaves you feeling weak physically, mentally, and even spiritually. Your body needs rest, in the same way your mind needs rest. There’s absolutely no real benefit in running yourself ragged trying to achieve a goal or meet a standard while missing out on life.
It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
Psalms 127:2
Staying still in the place of prayer
It’s so important to slow down sometimes because it also affects you in the place of prayer. I once attended a sermon where the pastor explained communion with God. He explained that when we worship God in spirit and in truth, God’s manifest presence appears. However, the beauty isn’t just in worship but in sitting at the table with God. To sit at the table, you have to be silent and be still in the presence of God. There’s a place you get to in worship where you feel the manifest presence of God and the next thing isn’t to ask for things, but to stay silent so you can hear God speak and feel God move.
Prayer isn’t a one-way street – it’s communication with God. This means that God is supposed to speak. How often do you leave room for God to speak? Do you do all the talking? Are you always active mentally and physically in the place of prayer? It’s so important to pause. Never be afraid to take a minute and just listen. Listen to hear what God is saying, listen to hear what He’s asking you to do.
In the hustle and bustle of life, we can get carried away. This means we forget to give God time to speak to us. Instead we make our requests known to God, but never take the time to just be in God’s presence and listen for His voice.
Sometimes we even forget to spend quality time with God and then make God less of a priority compared to the goals we’re chasing. In the midst of Jesus’ service to God, Jesus took time out to pray.
But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
Luke 5:16
The wilderness was a place of seclusion and stillness and the Bible shows that Jesus often left the crowd and people to pray (Matthew 14:23; Luke 6:12; Luke 11:1). Jesus is the prime example of how to live and the model that Jesus left for us was one that involved pausing and taking time to pray.
What do you gain from being still?
Strength: When you become still, you regain your strength. You gain physical, mental, and spiritual strength by leaving the fast pace of everything and just being still in the moment. There’s so much spiritual strength in being still in the presence of God because God’s presence rejuvenates you (Isaiah 40:29).
Knowledge: Being still is a time to listen to what God has to say. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). In your stillness, you learn more. You’re able to analyze your progress and see the mistakes you’ve made. Your heart becomes open to what God is teaching you.
Reprioritization: It gives you the opportunity to evaluate what you’ve made your priority. Your relationship with God should be your number one priority and if being fast-paced has shifted that, being still allows you to change things. You can use the time to make God your priority,
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
When you prioritize God, everything else falls into place.
How can we make time to be still?
You have to make a decision to be still. Being still takes discipline. It’s very easy to be carried away with the things of life, especially social media, bills, worries, and the cares of life. Staying still can be a great challenge.
Therefore, you have to set the time to be still. You could decide to wake up at a certain time in the morning , so you can have your quiet time with God and also relax your mind. It could also be at night. You could choose to have a day where you focus solely on God and listen to what God has to say while staying away from anything that can distract you, e.g. social media, your phone, tv, etc.
If you’re ever lost and don’t know what to do, just ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Jesus says we should lay our burdens on Him (Psalms 55:22, Matthew 11:28-30). When you get carried away with the cares of life, you lose the purpose that God has set before you.
It’s always better to make room to be still, both in God’s presence and in our daily lives.
There can be many obstacles in our society that diminish our ability to openly share the gospel. At the same time, our generation has arguably the most tools and resources to share the gospel, globally, than any before us. We can speak, declare and ‘tweet’ the good news from our bedrooms, even from the comfort of our bed! Despite this, it seems we are timid about declaring the name of God boldly and publicly. Many of us do not evangelise as we ought. Is it because we have forgotten about the life-changing impact the gospel had on our lives or do we no longer believe in the power of God?
The power of God to transform lives
We will have heard testimonies about what God has done in the lives of others. Perhaps we have our own testimonies of how God has shown up for us. Whether we believe or acknowledge our testimony, we have one. Our life has been transformed by God through the gospel – this is our testimony. The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ, that He came, He died, He rose again, and is coming back (Read more about the Gospel here https://onmission.uk/what-is-the-gospel/).
Thus, for this reason, we call ourselves Christians and this is what we can share with our friends, colleagues and even strangers on the street. The thought of evangelism may seem daunting; however, it is simply expressing the good news. And a great way to do this is by sharing how the good news of Jesus Christ changed us.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek
Romans 1:16
The gospel is the power of God that radically reshapes us into a new creation. It should be impossible to keep quiet about such a life-changing event. Unfortunately, many of us do keep silent and as we remain in the faith, we easily go about our lives without telling anyone about Christ.
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We become complacent with calling ourselves ‘Christians” without truly living or behaving in a way that represents our belief in the resurrection power of Christ. Having “the appearance of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). The bible advises us to avoid such people and we do not want to be people to be avoided. Are we ashamed of the gospel? We should not be ashamed.
The power in us
Ultimately, we should walk boldly and confidently with this knowledge because God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7). We have the power of God in us. We received this power when we received the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and dwells inside of us (Rom. 8:11).
The same power that:
Altered the life of Paul after he was persecuting Christ’s followers (Acts 9)
Healed the woman with the issue of blood (Matt. 9:20-22)
Redeemed the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-26)
Gave blind Bartimaeus his sight (Mark 10:46-52)
Multiplied 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed thousands (Luke 9:10-17)
Raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44)
We serve a truly powerful God, who we can trust to do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20). There is nothing the power of God cannot do. Think about your life and how God’s power is working.
Dare I say, it is almost selfish to keep the knowledge of this type of power to ourselves when there are millions of people in need of the saving grace of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
When you think of the gospel, what comes to mind? What does it mean to you? Sometimes the word Gospel can have a vague meaning to some, but it is important that as Christians we know what the Gospel is, where the word comes from and the power it holds. In understanding the weight behind the Gospel, we can speak of and hear it with more clarity and zeal, in the hope to draw more people to Christ and win souls for the Kingdom. The Gospel of Christ is worthy of being heard by all today, tomorrow, and forevermore and we will tell you why!
Where does the word come from?
The Greek word for Gospel is Euangelion which comes from eu- (“good”) and angelion (“tidings” or “message”). This is why we often say the Gospel is ‘Good news’. It is a term which, when used in the Old Testament and the New Testament, refers to receiving good news akin to a royal announcement. The very first time ‘Gospel’ appears in scripture is in 2 Samuel 4:10, when the Philistines kill the then king, Saul, and a herald is brought of the “good news” of Saul’s defeat. For the Philistines, the good news is that their enemy was defeated and now there is a new king. In Greek and Roman culture, the imperial cult produced a new “gospel” every time a new emperor gained the throne. When new emperors were inaugurated, one of the first things they would do is spread Caesar Gospels about himself across the entire empire. In the context into which Paul was speaking, “gospel” would mean the celebration of the accession, or birth, of a king or emperor.
What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The word ‘Gospel’ is used 75 times in 72 verses in the New Testament. It is used in 17 of the 27 books of the New Testament. The heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour, has defeated our enemy, and now reigns as a new King (Acts 2:36; 3:20-23; 10:36). The Gospel is that God, took on human flesh, died a substitutionary death, paid for our sins, conquered sin, and death to rise on the third day, ascended into heaven and is sat at the right hand of God and sent us His Spirit, and by all of this, Yahweh reigns and God’s kingdom is here (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43). And subsequently, due to the substitutionary work of Jesus on the cross, our sins are forgiven, we are reconciled with God and justified by faith. Jesus lived a life we could not live, died a death we could not die, defeated our enemy and is now raised as king, and due to no work of our own, won salvation for us.
The storyline of the Bible is that our first head lost the battle in the garden (of Eden) and, as a result, sin entered the world, so we needed a new head who, this time, won the battle in the garden (of Gethsemane) and as a result, righteousness entered the world. That is the climax of the Gospel – that Jesus is our King! And as our King, He stands in the place of His people, endures pain and suffering for their behalf, defeats their enemy and wins salvation for them.
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Why we bring the Good News
Now we have set the scene and have some more context, how does the message of the Gospel apply to us today? Well, it is the solid foundation of our faith. As Christians, we are blessed (spiritually prosperous and favoured) because of what Christ did for us on the cross, we walk in freedom and not shame, and our identity lies not in what we do but in who we are in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). As vessels of the Lord, we carry a great treasure within us, which is the gospel, one that should must be shared! The Gospel carries the power to bring hope, love and acceptance to many and it is accessible to all who are open to hearing it, let us not restrain ourselves when it comes to sharing the good news. Romans 10:15 says “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”. Praying as we read this, that God would give us the boldness and wisdom to share the Gospel when prompted to.
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Romans 10:14
Is the Bible one or divided? Is it just a book filled with many stories of different people? Can we read just one Testament of the Bible and understand what God is saying? Or does the Bible have to be read as a whole for full understanding?
When reading the Bible, there are two things that constantly appear. One is the fallibility of man, and the other is the love and infallibility of God. From the very beginning, we see that God does not make mistakes and that everything God does is good.
“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”
(Genesis 1:31)
Yet, from the moment God made man, we see the flawed nature of man.
The Bible in its entirety shows the journey of the fall of man from a place of perfect communion with God (the Garden of Eden), to the separation of man from that perfect communion, and finally a marvelous show of God’s love in creating a way for man to attain what we had once lost.
From Abraham to Moses, to David, and then finally to Jesus, each individual’s character was tested, tried, and refined. Yet only JESUS is the true hallmark and standard for the attainment of perfection that the Bible teaches.
The Old Testament shows the nature of those chosen by God. It also shows the character traits within them that allowed them to have an intimate relationship with God. It shows the key traits in these individuals that enabled them to be foreshadowers of Jesus. Pale impressions yet powerful examples of the traits that Jesus set as a standard for us. The Old Testament also prophesies the redemption of man through Jesus.
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What’s in the Old Testament?
The Old Testament is full of many lessons that can be applied to our daily lives, but it is also full of prophecies showing that a Saviour is coming. It builds the hope for a future where peace and righteousness reign.
Behold the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
(Jeremiah 23:5-6)
The Old Testament is full of prophets put in place to hold the fort for the soon coming King who would bring redemption and salvation, but none of them could do what Jesus did.
Whereas Abraham was a man of faith (Galatians 3:6; Genesis 15:6), he had many faults and made errors. Moses was deemed the meekest man on earth in his time (Numbers 12:3), but he never entered the Promised Land because of his disobedience. Although David was a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22), he was a man that sinned and suffered the consequences.
Although these men had intimate relationships with God and were used powerfully by God, they were still pale imitations of what the Spirit had been foretelling through the prophets.
Even David himself prophesies the coming and sufferings of Jesus several times (Psalm 110:1; Psalm 22:1-2; Psalm 2:1-6).
Jesus was the lesson and the hope of the Old Testament.
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…
(Isaiah9:6)
What’s in the New Testament?
While the prophets in the Old Testament tried to attain perfection through the law, the New Testament shows us the true way to salvation and perfection.
Just as the Old Testament prophets had been prophesying, Jesus was born and became the one true way to salvation.
The New Testament teaches us that through Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for our sins, we are forgiven, (Hebrews 9:12-14; Matthew 26:28). It also teaches us that although there is victory in becoming born again, it is only the beginning.
Jesus is the Great High Priest and the ultimate standard to follow in order to return to the place of perfect communion with God, as mankind was in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8).
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:13)
God came as man, went through every emotion and temptation known to man, overcame it all, and became an example for us. He showed us His weaknesses and how He overcame those times (through the word and prayer). Jesus taught us how to pray and showed the ultimate example of love. He did this by sacrificing himself for our sins, so we may know what true and perfect love is.
Is the Bible one?
The Bible cannot be fully understood or appreciated unless it is read as a whole. The Bible should not be divided when we study it. This is because the Bible as one shows us the way to true redemption. Both the Old and the New Testament teach us the same lessons; love God, love people, obey God, be in right standing with God. The only difference between the two is the coming of Jesus. While the Old Testament speaks on the coming of Jesus, The New Testament manifests Jesus and we gain our true salvation through the cross, after Jesus’ coming.
Because of Jesus, we don’t have to sacrifice animals to gain forgiveness, as was required in the Old Testament. We are now able to enter into perfect communion with God. The Bible shows us a true and complete example of how to live righteously. We are able to love and live the right way through grace until we become refined and “attain the stature of the fulness of Christ”.
On the 25th of May 2020, the whole world stopped, or so it seemed. Social media was full of recordings of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, Derek Chauvin. A year on from this death so much has happened. There has been further police shootings of civilians, more countries ravaged by the coronavirus, child abductions and increased tensions between nations. It seems like never-ending traumatic events are occurring throughout the world. There is the temptation to conjure up reductionistic explanations as to why there is so much trouble. Additionally, there is also the temptation to chalk up these situations to the “signs of the times” and let these events pass you by without feeling anything. So what lessons can we learn a year on from George Floyd’s death and the events that have occurred since then?
Human life is precious
The last year has been heavy. Death has a way of inducing deep grief that no other sorrowful situation can produce. On the 25th of May 2020, it felt like the whole world lamented the death of George Floyd. The video of George Floyd being crushed by the knee of a police officer who was supposed to serve and protect him circulated across social media and throughout the world. In subsequent days nationwide protests erupted across America and sparked protests throughout the world with the name George Floyd on the lips of those protesting. No matter the background of the people shouting for justice there appeared to be this unifying position: human life is precious. This statement is vital for humans to believe and for Christians to affirm. Human life is precious and is rooted in the very fact that humans bear the very image of their Creator (Genesis 1:27). God has placed even in the most callous of hearts His law, humans instinctively know that life is precious (Romans 2:15). The fact that people from various backgrounds rallied around to protest the unlawful killing of George Floyd signifies this truth. We don’t have to agree with every occurrence that transpired during and after the protests to affirm righteous anger when we see it.
The world is broken
As if George Floyd’s death wasn’t enough, more depressing events were to soon follow. At the time of George Floyd’s death, we were just at the beginning of countries entering into various lockdowns and social distancing regimes to try to curtail a virus that was running rampant throughout the world. Not only were there restrictions that limited normal life, there seemed to *more* pain televised. There was the End Sars campaign, Muslim concentration camps in China, more deaths at the hands of police officers, moral failures from pastors and leaders, inter- & intra-denominational wars. The list of issues that we face as communities and individuals appears to be endless. What do we do with this pain? What do we do when this pain is seemingly endless? Different solutions have been espoused for different problems. For racism there is black lives matter, for police brutality, there is End Sars, for sexual misconduct against women (and men) there is MeToo. Whilst these solutions can be helpful, are they sufficient? Can they ultimately bring the healing that we all desperately want?
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The Gospel is the answer
The answer I will give shortly may frustrate people and I understand why. When people have brought legitimate questions and issues to a leader or fellow believers, they have been dismissed with “just preach the gospel”. The gospel is not a crutch to lean on when you can’t be bothered to walk, neither is it a bat to whack away all the problems you don’t want to deal with. The gospel is the power of God for salvation for all people (Romans 1:16-17). The gospel also has imperatives, namely two: love God and love neighbour (Mark 12:30-31). These aren’t the gospel but they flow from it. People that have been captured by the gospel walk in its implications. We cannot divorce orthodoxy (right doctrine/worship) from orthopraxy (right actions). If we do we don’t have a gospel at all. Why? Because the gospel doesn’t only save the person but also changes the person (Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 11:19, Hebrews 10:16). With that being said, the gospel is the answer to all the problems of our day. The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ came to save sinners and in doing so He conquered sin (1 Timothy 1:15, Hebrews 2:14-15). Sin brings all the pain and sorrow that we see and Jesus is the only One who can deal with all the pain and sorrow.
Lessons to learn
1 . Christians are in danger of apathy – when you are far removed from a situation it’s easy to be apathetic. That’s not what we are called to. We fight apathy with love. Read the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). How often are we the pharisee that asks “who is my neighbour?”. 2. People are looking for real solutions – Over the past year, we have seen Christian leaders and laypeople alike fumble the bag when dealing with a variety of social issues from racism to sexual misconduct. If unbelievers don’t see the church address these issues, they will go elsewhere. We must show the world we are trustworthy individuals that will handle these social issues with care, expertise and the truth. 3. People are hurting – Sin is destructive. It causes pain that permeates throughout communities far beyond the environment the sin originally occurred. It is insensitive and, quite frankly, foolish to continue to suggest that the effects of the issues in one community cannot be felt by other communities. Rather than looking for ways to delegitimise the feelings of oppressed communities, we should seek to be comforters since we receive comfort from God in our times of need (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
There are many lessons to be learned from the various events that have occurred over the past year. There aren’t any simple solutions to these complex situations. We will do a disservice to the communities we must serve if we minimise the pain these communities feel. Christians we are equipped with the Spirit of God and the good news that provides hope. Let’s provide hope to the world that desperately needs it and learn from the lessons that have been provided by the events of this past year.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”
Matthew 5:15-16
In Acts 2, we read about the early church; the fellowship of believers as they prayed, broke bread and catered to one another’s needs, as the believers did this the Lord added to their numbers daily. The church otherwise known as the ecclesia (a called-out assembly of people) was formed to be Christ-centred and Holy-Spirit led. Every now and again, we should take time to reflect and ask ourselves; are we are being useful in our wider community, are we becoming Christians who are growing inward or outward towards the world?
How can we be salt and light where we are?
As individuals it is easy to settle with being shrouded with our own concerns and communities and can sometimes forget to look outwardly at how we could be there for others. So, do we now neglect ourselves to serve others for the sake of the Kingdom? No. Not exactly. You may have heard the phrase “you can’t pour from an empty cup” …well we also know it is the Lord who refreshes us to refresh others. The beautiful thing about Christian Agape love is that it involves self-sacrifice and seeks the best interest of the other person, it is the Holy Spirit who helps us to do this because due to our sinful nature we are naturally selfish and self-serving. Yet in 1 Corinthians 12:27, we are reminded that we are the body of Christ meaning we are all connected, therefore we share in struggles and victories; joy and weeping, we are united.
So individually, what can you do differently going forward?
You could say a prayer for someone before bed or better yet call them
You could carry out an act of service, for example offer to babysit for a single mum/dad at church
Even sharing a word of encouragement to a student going through a testing time at school
Individual actions of love and concern can make a drastic difference to the culture of the church, and make us useful Christians reaching outwards towards the world.
Collectively as a church – who do we draw towards us?
Now as a church, we are Christ’s representatives on earth. We are the city on the hill, the light in the darkness, here to draw people towards Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life. Collectively, as a church, are we more concerned with people who look/think/behave like us, or do we look outwardly… trying to draw people who are different to us? In Luke 5:32, Jesus says, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” He was not trying to draw people with perfect and polished lives instead He drew the spiritually unclean, socially ostracised and sick people.
I know from personal experience that when you grow up in church especially, it can be easy to become comfortable in that environment, but we are called to go out into the world and make disciples of men. Now taking it one step further, would you say it is easy to show love and serve people who appreciate it? Who respond in love? The natural answer is yes but Christ showed love to people who despised and judged him, He never allowed other people’s perception of Him to affect His mission on earth and we are called to do the same. More now than before, churches are expanding their reach to different communities such as the homeless, prostitutes, prisoners and LGBTQ groups that for so long have been marginalised and distanced from the church. Whilst stepping out of your comfort zone and growing outwardly is not always easy, it certainly is rewarding and an act of obedience. We are not called to do what is easy, we are called to do what is right in God’s eyes.
“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:12-15
Jesus Christ, whilst He was on earth, had an attractive spirit that drew people from all backgrounds/social classes towards him. In Luke 6:19 when Jesus was preaching it mentions “and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.” As Christians, we must remind ourselves that we carry the Holy Spirit and as part of the Great Commission we are called to share the Good News of the Gospel to everyone with no filter or discrimination.
