relationship

Contentment

“How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Genesis 39:9

Joseph was favoured by his father and that provoked jealousy in his brothers such that they would have killed him but for Rueben’s restraint. Nine of Joseph’s brothers wanted him dead but, when Rueben was absent, they sold Joseph to Ishmaelite slave traders. Joseph was seventeen years old. He became a slave in Potiphar’s house in Egypt. His statement quoted above shows that he was not angry or bitter with God. It reveals that he did everything as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). His resistance to temptation (v 8) would be severely tested as Potiphar’s wife came again and again (v 10). Nagging is Satan’s way to test and weaken our resolve to serve the Lord. The Holy Spirit does not nag.

Eventually Joseph had to flee (v 12) and was then falsely accused (v 14) and cast into prison (v 20). Even there he did not get angry or bitter with God but continued to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 10:31). At no time did the Lord leave Joseph. He continued to favour him as a slave and as a prisoner.

Where we are physically in this world is of little importance. What is important is where we are in our relationship with God. Oswald Chambers writes:

“The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler men and women; or they are making us more captious and fault-finding, more insistent upon our own way. The things that happen either make us fiends, or they make us saints; it depends entirely upon the relationship we are in to God.”

“When we understand what God is after we will not get mean and cynical.”

Oswald Chambers

Joseph is an example of one who maintained his relationship with the Lord regardless of his physical circumstances or place. Paul understood this when he wrote, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Fear and anxiety reveal that we are not content to serve the Lord where He has placed us. This may be especially so if we are where we are because of the unjust actions of others. We may admire Joseph but have no inclination to serve the Lord as he did. But what is God after? Jesus answers that in John 17:21, “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

Drifting Anchors

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil”

Hebrews 6:19

The anchor is God’s Word and Jesus Christ (vv13,14). Sometimes we have the wrong anchor. Many years ago I had a small open boat that I used for fishing and crabbing or just relaxing in either of the gulfs in South Australia. I had two anchors. Which anchor I took  depended on where I was going. One anchor was like a grapple and was used where the ocean floor was rocky or had obstacles on which the anchor could snag. The other anchor had flukes and it was designed for sandy sea or river floors. As tension was increased the flukes dug into the sand. On occasion I had the wrong anchor. The grapple anchor would not hold in sand if there was wind and waves. The boat would then drift away from where the fish were and it also opened up the possibility of drifting onto rocks.

When our understanding of Scripture is challenged we may respond in several ways. How we respond will have a lot to do with whether we have the right anchor in use. If our anchor is based on the teaching of other people, regardless of whether what they taught was correct or not, our anchor may start to drift. When that happens we will feel insecure or confused and may be at risk of shipwreck of our faith. On the other hand, if our anchor is our personal first-hand relationship with Jesus Christ and knowledge of God’s word then our anchor will hold securely just as the writer of Hebrews writes. After all, “It is impossible for God to lie” (v18).

I haven’t heard this hymn sung for a long while and perhaps it is time we revived it to encourage assurance and trust in God’s word.

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love

If you feel that your anchor is drifting it could be because your anchor is someone else’s teaching and not what you have personally received from the Bible confirmed by the Holy Spirit. Our anchor must be God’s word, not the teaching of another no matter how good we may think their exposition.

Differing Values

“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Judas, Matthew 27:4)

Why do people respond or react in different ways when faced with the same or similar circumstances and situations? The answer to this question may have a lot to do with what we believe and what we value.

The twelve disciples of Jesus all spent about three years with Him observing all that He did and listening to what He had to say.

They had previously been taught by the Rabbis that when Israel’s Messiah came He would deliver Israel from oppression and domination by Gentile nations. In their lifetime the Gentile nation that ruled Israel was the Roman Empire. The disciples therefore would have an expectation that the Messiah would deliver them from Roman rule and Roman oppression.

Along with many other people in Jerusalem at the time when Jesus rode the colt into the city (Matthew 21:1-11) the disciples believed that Jesus was that Messiah. Their expectation therefore was that Jesus would extinguish Roman rule and dominion and establish His own earthly kingdom as promised to King David (2 Samuel 7:16). The disciples were so sure of this that they argued among themselves regarding their position in that kingdom (Mark 10:35-41).

Jesus had told His disciples on several occasions that He would die and rise again but they apparently dismissed this as impossible. After all, they believed that Jesus was God and He confirmed that fact by miracles on many occasions.

Judas betrayed Jesus in what may have been an attempt to force Jesus’ hand. He accepted money in payment for this betrayal. He was a thief. He sought power, prestige and wealth for himself. As the current “treasurer” his expectation was that he would be treasurer in the kingdom. Remember that the disciples had recently been arguing about their positions in the kingdom.

After heroically defending Jesus on the Mount of Olives, Peter later denied knowing Jesus. He was grieved in his heart that he had done such a thing and so he wept bitterly.

The different responses to Jesus being taken into custody were not in what each believed. Both Judas and Peter believed that Jesus was Israel’s long awaited Messiah and that He would establish His own kingdom at that time. The difference was in their values. Judas valued position, power and prestige. Peter was grieved and wept not because he had lost the opportunity for position, power and prestige but because he knew he had severely damaged his relationship with Jesus. Judas had no intimate relationship with Jesus. His sorrow was over his personal loss. Peter grieved over the loss in his relationship with Jesus.

The question for each of us is whether we are seeking high position in Christ’s kingdom or seeking a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. If we serve Jesus to gain merit it is clear that we are seeking position in His kingdom and that will lead us to betray or deny Him at some time. On the other hand if our desire is an intimate relationship with Jesus we will always be grieved and repentant when we damage that relationship by sin. Like Peter we will look with aching heart for Him to come and reconcile us to Himself. He will come.

Living Together

“We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20)

On a few occasions I have seen cars with the following sign in their rear window;

“No Jesus, no life

Know Jesus, know life”

This statement matches the several that John makes regarding an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In chapter two of the same letter, verses three and four, John declares that a person who is in such a relationship with Jesus Christ will be keeping His commandments. This should not be interpreted as slavishly obeying a set of rules externally as we do with our nation’s laws. This kind of obedience comes from a desire within to bring pleasure to the one we love.

John also makes several other references to “knowing” Him in his Gospel. There is one important negative statement in Matthew’s Gospel in this matter. Speaking of people who outwardly appeared to know Him because they preached and did miracles in His name, Jesus says that they had not entered into this intimate relationship of “knowing” Him and in spite of their activities they are rejected. They had not received and entered into a relationship with Jesus who is eternal life (Matthew 7:21-23).

The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ defines the gap between heaven and hell in terms of an intimate relationship with Himself ought to be sufficient evidence for anyone since all judgment has been given to Him (John 5:22).

If we want to know about someone, we read their biography but if we want to know them intimately we will have to live with them. This is true of all relationships. It is through sharing lives that intimacy grows. This equally applies in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Many people know about Jesus, perhaps quite a bit, because they have read and studied the Bible. They may even have developed a strong attachment to the image of Jesus that is formed in their mind from this knowledge and believe they are Christians. But Jesus has made it clear that this is insufficient for salvation and entrance into His everlasting presence. Intellectual knowledge only may lead to a moral but legalistic life.

Philip and the other disciples of Jesus had been with Him for some time when Philip asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus’ response is helpful with our present subject, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:8, 9). It is the time that the disciples had been with Jesus and the activities that they had shared with Him that brought about revelation and intimacy. It will be the same for us. We will grow in intimacy when we spend time with Jesus and we share lives with Him.