Armour [Gospel]

Ephesians 6:12-15

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then... with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

Paul is thinking here of the typical sandals Roman soldiers wore which allowed them to move quickly during battle, gave them traction to stand their ground in the battle and provided protection to their feet. The shoes allowed them to move freely over any terrain, not concerned about standing on thorns or shards or rough rocks. Having the certainty that the shoes would hold them allowed to them focus on the fight at hand. 

Imagine going into the treacherous terrain of battle barefoot or wearing fluffy slippers. It just doesn't seem like it would be setting yourself up for success, right? 

The soldiers' shoes affected their balance, grip, power, and movement. In the same way, the foundation of our day-to-day Christianity is the gospel. The gospel anchors our faith in the Truth of who God is, what He's done and the impact on our lives, purpose and actions. Without that, we'd slip all over the place. 

We don't go barefoot, because we can't go in our own strength. We need to covered and anchored by the gospel, by the fact that we have been redeemed and restored by the blood of Jesus. 

We don't go in slippers because we can't afford to be lazy and laid back. The devil prowls like a lion to take any ground we are complacent to give. 

The shoes of the gospel are not about our comfort, but they certainly bring peace. If we can grasp the fullness of what the gospel means for us, anxiety cannot stand. 

While carrying this gospel of peace, we also can't be flat footed and apathetic. The picture of putting on the gospel every day reminds us of the need to be front footed and active in living out and taking the gospel in and to the world around us. 

Not Our Own

You most likely know the story of Jacob stealing Esau's blessing from Isaac in Genesis 27. Jacob, the liar and deceiver, puts on clothing that belongs to someone else, takes stew that he did not make, and covers himself with skin that is not his, all so that he can have his father's blessing. 

Does that perhaps ring a bell? 

By the grace of God, we put on righteousness that was not our own, covered in the perfect blood of Jesus, and by His work alone and were able to approach the Father for His blessing. Unlike Isaac, God was not blind or deceived in pronouncing His blessing over us, but He knew that the sacrifice of His Son was enough to cover us and to impute all that belonged to Jesus onto us, as Jesus took all that we deserved as liars and deceivers upon Himself. 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. 

God Only Knows

Ezekiel 37:3

He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

I love this verse because it states in such a simple way: our inadequacy, but at the same time, God's perfect, all-sufficient adequacy. 

The reality is that there are many MANY things that I don't know, don't understand, can't even begin to comprehend. But the much more important reality is that God does know. He does understand. He can comprehend all things, in all ways, at all times. There is nothing outside of the ambit of His sovereign knowing. 

So yes, we might roll our eyes and say, 'ugh God only knows', but we can for sure build you lives on the fact that God does indeed know. 

At The Sound of His Roar

Today I heard that a lion's roar can be heard from a distance of up to 8km away. How crazy is that?! It is meant to sound as a warning to those who don't belong to stay away, and sound as a 'come home' to those who belong but have strayed away.

In Revelation 5, Jesus is referred to as the Lion. It got me thinking about His voice in my life. In Psalm 68 and 29 it is said that the voice of the Lord is mighty, powerful and majestic.

Sometimes His words are warnings, they are words of a righteous, holy God. His voice thunders in victory over death and sin and all of Satan's plans. He speaks words of correction and pruning to me. At other times His voice calls me home. It draws me in and reminds me of His relentless love. It pierces the darkness of my situation and calls me out of the grave.

Of course, Jesus as the Lion leads me to Aslan -- a beautiful picture of Jesus painted by C.S. Lewis -- and the times that he roared.

1. Mr Tumnus is putting Lucy to sleep for the sake of the White Witch. He is compromising his beliefs and giving in to doing the wrong thing. Aslan roars from the fireplace and Mr Tumnus is hit with a realisation and conviction that he has to stop, that there is another way, that he does have the strength and courage to change and do the right thing.

I pray that where you are walking down the wrong paths, giving in to your desires and the temptations that plague you: that God's voice would roar into your life with truth and conviction, reminding you of his way, and giving you the strength to resist, the courage to do what is right.

2. Peter is looking terrified and way out of his depth as one of the White Witch's wolves is circling him, looking to attack. Aslan takes down the wolf with just one paw and roars in a way that seems to say: "this boy is mine; you have no power here."

I pray that where you are feeling anxious and terrified, like the devil has you surrounded and there is no way out: that you would hear the roar of God over your life saying "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matt 3:17). That the roar of God would remind you of your identity and who you are in Him and you would know He has your back and will always protect you as a beloved child of His.

3. The White Witch asks Aslan, "How do I know your promise will be kept?" His only response is to roar with what seems like so much authority and conviction -- all the Witch can do is hurriedly take her leave.

I pray that where you find yourself doubting the words and truth and hope of our God, that he would roar directly at your doubts, and they would have to leave. That as He roars over your life, you would be reminded that all his promises are always fulfilled (just perhaps not within your prescribed timeframe). Reminded that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), so what He says of you and your future are absolute and true.

4. After Aslan comes back to life, he roars in a way that says, "I'm back, I overcame, I can't be held down, I'm fully alive again."

I pray that God would roar his salvation over you. That you would be reminded that Jesus took your shame and punishment and death, that you might live. That death could not hold him, that sin and death were fully conquered that you might know the fullness of His life (John 10:10). I pray that God would roar over the dead things, dead dreams, dead hopes, dead gifts in your heart and bring them back to life as only He can.

5. As the Narnians are seemingly losing the battle and it looks like the Witch is going to kill Peter, Aslan arrives on the scene and roars loudly over the battle (goosebumps every time!). The Witch is shocked and horrified that she didn't actually defeat Aslan and Peter's face radiates with hope and relief that Aslan has showed up -- both of them knowing that this was the ultimate game changer.

I pray that you would hear the roar of God over the battles you are facing right now. That you'd be reminded that He knows about all the darkness and struggles and trials you are facing and He cares deeply for you. And like the Narnians would say "Aslan is on the move" to inspire courage and hope within each other, I say to you "God is on the move, He is at work, He is fighting your battles for you." (Exodus 14:14)

6. And finally, as Aslan takes out the White Witch, he roars as he pounces on her and roars as he kills her -- her reign, her dominion, her terror ended once and for all.

I pray that God would roar "It is finished" over your life (John 19:30), a roar of victory and roar of finality. That you would let go of your striving and earning and know that His grace is enough. That the power of sin has no more hold on you, that your debt has been paid in full, that the victory has been won. Winter is over, you can have hope, you are free.

May the roar of the Lion, the voice of our Father and King, shape us, guide us, encourage and revive us.

Listen for His voice as it roars over you.

Kruger Traffic

 

When driving around Kruger National Park on the lookout for the big cats and dogs, nothing raises hope quite as much as seeing a car stopped on the side of the road. And as you drive closer and see camera lenses and binoculars all pointing in the same direction, you know you’re onto something good. Your heart begins to race. You sit up straighter, take off your sunglasses for a clearer view, get the camera ready, and start looking harder in the direction they seem to be pointing in.

But more often than not, it’s nothing interesting or nothing at all. All that build up and excitement for a silly little monkey in a tree or perhaps the most common Kruger sighting, an impala. It’s such a letdown! These people, with their simple act of stopping, promised so much that resulted in so little. It’s really not good for the heart! I know my family has done the same to people when we’ve parked in the shade to have lunch. They’d drive up expectantly and see us eating, then mutter, “net piekniek” and drive off disappointed.

Oh but the joy that comes when they say something along the lines of “Leopard” or “Wild dog”. You follow their gaze and see the most beautiful creations of our God. And as they drive off, you now become the pointer to the sighting. Your joy and hope are fulfilled. It’s a magnificent thing!

Matthew 5:14-16

 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Where have you stopped the car of your life? What is your life pointing to? When people drive up to you do they simply see you munching away, focused on nothing, and leave disappointed? Or does your life point to something, to Someone, great and beautiful?

You are being watched. Let your life point to Jesus and lead others to see and enjoy Him. And as you move on to new stuff in God, those people will lead others to see Jesus. Start a movement by parking your life in Jesus and turning your focus on Him. People will see and the world will be changed.

How’s this for a dream:

Zechariah 8:23

“…ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of [insert name] by the hem of [his/her] robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.”

The Great Lion

Everybody wants to see a lion. People drive around the Kruger desperately searching for the big cat. The number one question around the camps is: “Have you seen any leeus?”

And when a lion is found, every eye nearby is turned to it. Kids that were bored and distracted now silently stare in awe. Those that were sleeping are now fully awake and focused. There could be a giraffe practically dancing in the road or a monkey doing cartwheels next to the cars, but all the attention would be on the majestic cat. The other animals that you did or didn’t see now become unimportant. There’s just something about the lion.

The Bible refers to Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelations 5:5). Whether they realise it or not, everyone is in some way searching for the Lion. We were created to seek Jesus and look upon his face. And when we encounter the Great Lion, we find what we’ve been looking for, and everything else seems to fade. We find ourselves being awakened and focused and in awe.

“He's not a tame lion… But he is good."

(The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis)

Catch Me

You’re standing on the edge of a tree house, looking down at your dad, ready to launch off the edge. If you jump, you trust that he will catch you. That trust is knowing that your dad will act in your best interest, despite your feelings and your fear.

Trust isn't not caring. If you don’t care whether or not you break a leg, it’s easy to jump. But that also means that you don’t care if your dad catches you—and that’s not trust. Trust is not a YOLO, don't care attitude. Often, in trying not to care, not to face our fears, we rob ourselves of opportunities to trust God. Trust is knowing that we are loved and that God has the power to act in that love. 

Why do you trust your dad to catch you if you jump? Because you know that he doesn’t want to see you hurt. He wants to catch you—because he loves you. As people, we are all flawed and we will make mistakes no matter how good our intentions are. God is different. Mistakes are not a possibility for Him and love is not an option for him:

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

For your dad waiting below the tree, it's more than just the desire to catch you, he needs to be able to catch you. This is where people too often fall short, because, despite best interests and desires, we don’t always have the power to act in that love. God does. Not only does he love you unconditionally, but he has the absolute ability to follow through on that love. 

"You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.” (2 Chronicles 20:6)

So God loves us and has the power to act in that love— then why does he let us get hurt? I.e. why is there evil in this world?

There are many reasons, but those reasons often sound flat when compared to the suffering someone is going through. That's when we are presented with a choice. Do we choose to believe that God is acting in our best interests, even when everything we see and feel is telling us otherwise? Just because we are feeling something, doesn't necessarily mean it is true.

I could never pretend to understand God and all His ways, but I do think that sometimes God lets us fall and break that leg or fail that test so that we can realise that, yeah actually we did care about that thing. And once we understand what we consider important, we can turn to him and truly trust him with whatever those things are. As 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your care on him, because he cares about you.” He wants us to trust him with the things that are important to us. Trust is knowing that God has a purpose for the pain, even when it doesn't make sense.

When we make that choice to trust God, we are given an assurance, a promise of God that can never be broken:
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

We’re not told that the heat will avoid us, or that drought will pass over us. We’re told that we will remain green in the midst of the drought. We will be green because we have the source of living water in us (John 4:14), Jesus Christ our Lord.

And in that, we can trust.