John 15

We finished chapter 14 by saying that the completeness of God is interested in the insignificance of me who will come and make his home in us. Let's begin to unpack chapter 15 and see how this corporate unity of the completeness of God works out in life.

The first thing to remember about this chapter is that it is a continuation of chapter 14 and so is therefore part of the same discourse that Jesus is giving to his disciples.

Whilst he is saying to his disciples in John 14:30 “I do not have much time to talk to you” he reassures them that he and the father know what they are doing and in John 15:1 he says “I am the vine and my father is the gardener” immediately taking his disciples into a place of security where the gardener is in control and his disciples, along with us, the reader in the 21st century, can rest assured that God knows what he is doing.

Jesus then says in John 15:2 that the gardener prunes the vine by removing the dead branches and cutting back those that do produce fruit in order that the vine will produce more fruit.

It is the gardeners job to ensure that the vine produces fruit, the job of the gardener is never ending, he is required to prune, weed, water, care for and monitor the plants within the garden to ensure that the place is kept in a manner that pleases and provides a place of solace and encouragement for the owner and onlookers.

Pruning of a vine is a necessary part of vineyard husbandry and is required in order for the vine to produce a good quality and quantity of grape and also to ensure that adequate young shoots are being encouraged for next season's growth. Vines only produce fruit from shoots that are one year old and so require removing once fruiting has finished.

So what Jesus is saying is that we all need pruning continually in order for us to produce fruit and for us to be prepared for fruiting year on year.

What we observe about a vine is that a vine has a stock and branches but essentially they appear to be indistinguishable from each other, so when Jesus says in John 15:5  “I am the vine and you are the branches” what he is saying is I am the vine, you are the vine, I am the branch you are the branch. Essentially Jesus and me are one and the gardener does not distinguish between them, he selects the unhealthy branches and the branches that have already fruited he cuts off from the vine so that the vine will continue to be fruitful year on year.

This pruning process is a continual process that is applied to our lives to make us fit for purpose, the purpose of producing fruit for the vinedresser who Jesus tells us in John 15:1 is his Father.

In John 15:3 Jesus begins to piece the picture together by saying “you have already been pruned” or in the KJV “you are already clean” “because of the word or message I have already spoken to you“ Jesus is speaking here to the converted, his disciples. He is comforting and preparing his disciples for life on earth without him. He has already made it clear in John 15:1-2 that he is the vine and that every branch of his that is unprofitable is taken out by the father and destroyed and every fruitful branch is pruned in order to produce more fruit. So here in John 15:3 he assumes a point in time where the pruning process has taken place and he makes it very clear that in order for us to be fruitful we must remain in the vine and the vine must remain in us. As I have already pointed out a vine and it's branch are virtually indistinguishable and Jesus is saying that one must remain in the other to produce fruit, which is obvious, but probably overlooked by most of us at some point in our lives, one without the other renders both useless for the purpose it was intended, that of producing fruit.

The point that Jesus is also making about the importance of remaining in the vine is that he knows that his ministry on earth has been divisive because he knows that essentially “everything is spiritual”  and when a person starts from that perspective their life will be at odds with the world because it is so fundamentally different to the selfish, sinful nature of human desire that has been brought about by the fallen state of mankind, the state of man that Jesus came to restore to a right relationship to God the Father and creator of all. It is in the remaining or abiding in the vine that we find the true meaning of life. By ensuring that we remain in the vine, and as Jesus promises to remain in us by the power of the indwelling Spirit that has been given by the Father, we will produce fruit, fruit that will remain.

So Jesus is saying here, to his disciples and to anyone through the expanse of time, to those who have been made clean by the Word Jesus, (the Word that became flesh and lived among us John 1:14, the Word already spoken, the Word received and adopted) that life will work if we ABIDE IN THE VINE AND THE VINE ABIDES IN US, it is together that we work life out.

This producing of fruit is all about remaining spiritual, it is not about how many souls we have influenced into accepting Christ or how many people have joined our church or how many missionaries we support, it is all about knowing Christ and him crucified and the power of his risen life intertwined and immersed into our innermost spiritual parts so that we are able to stand firm in a turbulent and unstable world knowing that life is safe and secure in the knowledge that the vine dresser is fully committed to tending his vine so that it produces good fruit for his table.

Jesus call to action in this chapter is not that we strive to produce fruit but that we abide in the vine and remain indistinguishably joined to the root so that we can testify to the ministry of Jesus and can know a place of security in a topsy turvy world.

John 14

We finished chapter13 on a note of despair but with an observation that the only way of being able to fulfill Peter's words of “laying down a life" was to recognise that life is first and foremost Spiritual and it is that Spirituality that works out salvation.

Peter has just been told by Jesus that he will deny him three times before even the rooster crows, but here in chapter14 Jesus continues with words that give us hope.

“Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God believe also in me." This verse is crucial if we are to live a life that is spiritual, (which is in fact the only way to life a life), because Jesus is saying that I and God are one. Jesus has said this many times before and he itterates it yet again. It is reassuring to notice that Jesus is preparing his disciples for life on earth without him but leaving then with full assurance that he is going to prepare a place for us in his father's house.

It would appear that both Thomas and Phillip either don't get it or they have both mis-understood who Jesus is. Thomas says “we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way?” while Philip says “Lord show us the Father and it is sufficient for us”

Thomas seemed to be saying that in his experience life was first and foremost physical and his whole outlook was one of a physical experience unable to extend to the spiritual.. He had been with Jesus for three years and it appears he had not grasped that this Jesus was God in man and therefore was the only access to the Father.

Phillip also reveals that his experience of Jesus’s life is physical with a bolt on optional spirituality and receives a fuller answer to his question than Thomas did. In John 14:6-11 Jesus explicitly reveals the Father and the only access to Him, v6, contains one of the great “I am’s" of Jesus. These I am’s are significant all through scripture and started with God revealing himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14 where God says I AM who I AM. This one little statement declares and confirms the supremacy, the steadfastness, the reliability, the sustaining, the all encompassing nature of God. Whenever we read I am in God's word it should always fIll us with hope, a hope that does not fade or expire.

Whenever Jesus uses the words I am he is revealing and aligning himself to God. In essence he is saying “we are one."

As we move through this chapter to John 14:12-21 we read that Jesus implies that the way to know the Father requires action, our action. The action that is required is to ask and receive, here in John 14:12-18 we have Jesus preparing his disciples,and ultimately, all future generations to ask and receive, in order that we are not left as orphans or left without hope.

Jesus is saying that the Father is glorified in the Son and the Son will impart himself as"another Helper.” This word “another” literally means “another exactly the same as",who will be with you, alongside you and in you. This helper or comforter is the “Spirit of truth"and notice who Jesus says will receive him, it is those who know Christ v17, those who have asked and have received and acknowledged that Christ is God, those who acknowledge that life is spiritual and understand that we live a spiritual life and that it is a life lived from the inside out not outside in. Repentance is all about turning around and walking away from, walking in the opposite direction. It is this very act of physical, intellectual and spiritual repentance, this turning around and walking away from that we work out a life that is spiritual and a live that is lived from within that enables us to be assured of the promise in John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you”. Jesus goes onto say in John 14:19-31 it is possible to see and know Christ because of the unity of the Father and Son, the unity of Son and Spirit and the unity of Spirit and flesh. The Christian life is only possible if the unifying elements of love and obedience to spiritual laws are adheard to and upheld. It is the moral application of the laws of existence that will be the ultimate redemption of the world.

In John 14:23 Jesus says in response to a question from Judas (not Iscariot) about Jesus being manifest to people that it is all about love,”you love me and you will keep my commandments", notice it does not say “you might” or “you could" it says"you will" implying it is a law of spirituality that is at work. Also notice in his answer Jesus uses the word “My Father will love him". this is the personal touch, the personal assurance that Jesus knows the Father. He then goes on and uses the corporate, “we will come to him and make our home with him" (just a note here the “him" is not gender specific, God created man, (the Hebrew word here is adnah, meaning mankind), in His image, male and female He created them Genesis 1:27:).

It is this personnel assurance of the corporate unity of the completeness of God who is interested in the insignificance of me that gives hope to our nation and our world. We will see in the next chapter how this unity of the Godhead works out in life.

God in the Midst 1

John 13

Following on from the previous chapter, John 12, where we introduced the concept of “God in the midst”, the idea that we have to seek the spiritual man God the Father and where we have to move from a place of knowing Jesus the man, to knowing God the Father, moving to a place that is Spiritual.

Our starting point to knowing God has to be from a place of spirituality, because “God the Father is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth” John 4:24. It is true to say that in reality “Everything is Spiritual”, it is only when we recognise Spirit that we can begin our life’s journey towards and with Jesus. As John wrote at the outset of this gospel in John 1:12-13 “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God”.

To be a Christian is not just about what we do or what doctrinal position we take or have about the theory of “God in our midst”, it is about experiencing “God in our midst” and naturally working out the great work of salvation that God has worked in us, a work accomplished through His Son who willing trod a path to a cruel cross in order that you and I could have, and experience, eternal life.

Here in John 13 we have an account of both commitment to and betrayal of Jesus, an account that demonstrates to us today the seriousness of what the cost of discipleship really means.

Our story starts around a meal table, a place where conversation takes place. Jesus is celebrating with his disciples a meal we have come to know as the last supper. It is in this place of closeness with his disciples, those he had chosen to be with him on his three years of extraordinary ministry, that we encounter the man Jesus, demonstrating what true Christianity is all about.

The narrative tells us in John 13:3 that Jesus knew “that the Father had given him all authority” and “that his time had come to return to His Father.” With this knowledge of knowing what was ahead Jesus rises from his place at the table, takes a towel and a bowl of water and proceeds to wash his disciples feet. This act is demonstrating that Christianity is about service not ritual. He is also showing that for anyone of us to be able to partake of the “Kingdom of Heaven” we need the experience of washing by the hands and life of Jesus so we can be presented to the Father, spotless, by and in the person of Jesus Christ.

We read in John 13:8 that Peter protests at this demonstration of servant hood that Jesus is modelling and the narrative gives the impression that Peter was too proud and too full of self importance to allow this man, who he had come to know and revere as friend and Lord, to stoop so low as to wash his feet, a job that would have been the task of an employed servant in an established Jewish/Roman household of the time. Jesus response to Peter’s attitude was “you don’t understand now, but someday you will” and “if you don’t allow me to perform this act of service on you then you have no part with me.” At this point in the proceedings Peter has a light bulb moment where he demonstrates and reveals his ignorance to the whole situation and says “well not just my feet then, wash all of me.” The truth is that we are all clean through the word already spoken (as we will discover in John 15:3 later) but we need to be in a place of submission where we allow our feet, the area that is symbolically in contact with the world, to be washed in order for us to continue to live in this great freedom we call salvation.

It is true to say that everyone of us has the potential to betray, and as we know even Peter, who has just made a scene over the demonstration of servant hood, would betray Jesus in the not too distant future.

Judas was a man chosen by Jesus to be part of the twelve men that He called disciples, he was a man who obviously showed promise, rising to the rank of treasurer, a role that gave him authority, respect and responsibility.

This raises questions around how Judas had aspired to the role, was he naturally good with money? Was he a manipulator working to hold some kind of power? Was he a control freak? Did he have a heart of compassion for the poor and therefore was naively entrusted with the money? What ever the reason for Jesus choosing Judas will remain a mystery except for the fact that Judas was chosen to betray Jesus, it was God’s plan, which again raises questions around who God chooses and who betrays Him.

The truth is God does not choose people to betray Him. We all have the potential to do that ourselves and we are all vulnerable when we loose focus of, or stray from Christ Himself.

We have here in John 13 the ultimate betrayal, that of a man’s life for approximately half a years wage equivalent (we can assume there was quite a bit of money at Judas disposal as 30 pieces of silver would have been equivalent to half a years wage, a lot of money for one man but divided between 12 that would equate to about two weeks wages, and he was entrusted with it on their behalf).

Betrayal is the act of being unfaithful and in our case, as Christians, that is being unfaithful to Christ and His indwelling life within us.

What John is recording here in this chapter is that Jesus had called Judas out, He had shown him up for who he was, a liar and a cheat. The reality is that Judas had already strayed in his heart and head, the act had already been committed, Jesus just says “Go and do and do quietly”. Jesus knew Gods plan and no longer needed to or wanted to procrastinate the unfolding plan of salvation. We read in John 13:31-35 words that should drive us to our knees in acknowledgement that this man Jesus is without any doubt God. What Jesus was saying in John 13:31 was ‘now my Father’s work and my work is complete, from now on you will need to support yourselves’. Jesus says follow my example of love to you and extend this among yourselves so all those around you will know you are my disciples.

In John 13;36-38 we read the well known exclamation of exuberance by Peter, who is not unlike many of us, who rushes in where fools fear to tread”. Peter utters words that no man or woman can fulfil without the indwelling, ongoing work of the “Helper”, the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus in chapter 14.

I have said many times before in different writings that salvation is worked out daily and the truth is that none of us can utter Peter’s words in John 13:37 “Lord why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake” and ever hope to fulfil them without us living a life in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus demonstrated in John 13;31 and through His life on earth, “laying down our life” involves us willing giving up all rights to our life and accepting that a life lived in God is first and foremost Spiritual which works out Salvation in and through our circumstances and therefore glorifies God and makes Him known.

God in the midst

John 12

In John 12 I want to draw your attention to a few points rather than connect the narrative as before.

As we begin chapter 12 we find that Jesus has just arrived back in Bethany, the place  where he had raised Lazarus, and back with his friends, Martha, Mary and Lazarus. He is attending a meal that has been prepared in his honour. John, the writer, takes great care in telling us exactly what each of his hosts are doing. Martha is busy making sure that everyone of the guests are fed and watered, ensuring that everything is happening, she is so preoccupied with service, appearance and protocol that she misses out on the presence of Jesus. Lazarus was reclining at the table that Martha was busy waiting at, I want you to note that this was quite normal and not out of place at this time in history, but more importantly he was revealing how steeped in tradition he was and therefore blind to the real person of Jesus, that of “God in their midst”. Mary, on the other hand, was preoccupied with Jesus, to the extent that she took an expensive oil and anointed the feet of Jesus. Mary had recognised that this Jesus was both Saviour and Lord and He was worth making this sacrifice for. It appears she was oblivious to the fact that this ointment could have been sold and the money donated to feeding the poor, a point that Judas Iscariot made and in so doing revealed his heart, he was more inclined to appearance and self pretence rather than worship. We read that he stole from the money purse for his own ends, he was living a lie, a lie that ultimately cost his sanity, peace and his life.
The point is that before any of us can serve the poor, who will always be there, we first have to fall at the feet of Jesus and recognise Him in our midst.

Martha was pre occupied with serving, Lazarus was content to recline and eat what was served but Mary went straight to the heart of the matter and anointed the feet of Jesus and demonstrated her love, respect and reverence for a man who she realised was the Messiah, the “God in the midst” who’s life was sent to demonstrate another way.

As we move through this chapter we find many things to pass comment on and in John 12:9-11 we read that many Jews knew he was in the house with Lazarus and so dropped by in order to observe Lazarus, a man raised from the dead, a phenomenon worth seeing. We read that many people believed in Jesus on account of Lazarus and this angered the chief priests, those in authority in the synagogue. How sad it is when one great act of mercy on a fellow human becomes the object of division and destruction and in this story results in a plot to even kill Lazarus. Surly the answer is to explore and accept that “God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform” and to acknowledge that Jesus is the messiah and has come to save us all and requires us to bear witness to who he is.

As we move into John 12:12-19 we encounter a very familiar story, the account of Jesus making a triumphal entry on a donkey’s colt, a colt that had never been ridden before.

Bethany is two miles outside Jerusalem, word had spread that Jesus was coming, the man who could raise dead men from their tombs. We see from this section that those people who had witnessed the miracle of Lazarus were the ones who bore witness (v17); that is what each and everyone of us has to do “bear witness” to the goodness and greatness of “God in the midst”. When we do that many will follow Jesus just like it is reported in v19, causing the Pharisees to question what they were actually doing who came to the conclusion that they were doing nothing and acknowledged that the “world had gone after Him”. The Pharisees, those who were supposed to be able to bring people to God, had recognised their failing in being able to “show the way” mainly because they had not witnessed or encountered “God in the midst” and had hardened their hearts to what God was doing in their vicinity. We all have to acknowledge what God is doing in our vicinity, it may not be to our liking, but we need to change our heart and attitude and discern with spiritual wisdom “God in the midst” and then give support and become a witness to the great outpouring of God’s  Grace and Mercy.

As we move on into John 12:20-26 we are presented with some Greeks who want to see Jesus. They are in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. They would have been Jews or of Jewish decent who had been scattered at some point in Israel’s history and were now Greek. They would not have been in Jerusalem celebrating Passover unless they knew what Passover was and it’s significance to them as Jews.
They approached Philip with the question “sir we want to meet Jesus?” These Greeks had heard about Jesus, His fame had spread as far as Greece. I want you to notice what Philip does, he goes to find Andrew, another disciple, and together they go and ask Jesus if these Greeks can have an audience with him. Jesus answer appears somewhat strange, rather than say “yes no problem”  he replied with “now the time has come for the son of man to come into his glory”. In other words its not me the man you need to seek it is God my Father who you really should be seeking. This is true for us all, in the absence of the physical man Jesus we all need to seek the spiritual man God the Father. Jesus recognised and knew that everything is spiritual and true life comes from the source, God the Father, “God in the midst”.

Trust and Service (Another perspective) 2

My name is Oscar and I have written once before of my recollections of an amazing journey I undertook with my employer’s servant, a man named Eliazer, who had been charged by our master Abram to find a wife for his son Isacc, a journey I undertook as an old camel who had been called back into service from retirement because of “my experience.” You can read this story here, at http://blog.steveford.me.uk/2011/03/trust-and-service-another-perspective.html.

I would like to recount another story my grandfather told me about which took place at the beginning of his employment with Abram.

His recollection started in a place called Haran, a town 600 miles north west of a place called Ur of the Chaldees, an ancient siemetic speaking nation which existed between late 10^th and early 9^th century BC and who were eventually absorbed into Babylonian.

Haran was a trading route from Ur to the Mediterranean, east to west, and the people shared the same deity, the moon god nanna or sin. For some reason my master’s family had moved from Ur to Haran and on the death of Abram’s father, Terah, Abram decided to move on, I say Abram decided but he says he was told by God to leave all that was familiar “and go to a land that I will show you.”

As a mere camel I am unsure and confused by this notion that you humans sometimes appear to have this “in built” need or desire or compulsion to attribute your actions to some higher authority, we animals just live and die, but you humans seem to have this hard wired third dimension, a dimension of spirituality, hence you need to worship anything that gives you satisfaction or security.

Oh I do prattle on so much, where was I? Oh yes, recounting my grandfathers story of the journey he undertook with our master Abram.

It seemed strange to my grandfather at the time why Abram found it necessary to break with the tradition of worshipping this ancient moon god, nanna, and start to explore a creator God. It would appear that Abram was not gaining a lot of “spiritual refreshment” from the popular and accepted worship to nanna but was increasingly seeking and developing a deeper more dimensional meaning and understanding of one true God, a creator God who required His subjects to worship Him in “Spirit and Truth.” So our master Abram began to live by faith and not by sight, something that would stand him in good stead in the years that would follow.

Well I digress, lets get back to the recounting of my grandfather’s story. Just so you have some facts to help you understand the context, my grandfather was acquired as a young working camel to join Abram’s team as he obeyed God’s voice which had said to him “get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land I will show you.” A journey that was going to be life changing and transforming, not only for Abram and his closest companions but also for my grandfather, one of his trusted workers.

It was a task and a half I tell you, my grandfather said, packing up all the possessions accumulated by Abram in Haran to begin our journey south west on instruction from our master, who in turn was following instructions, well more like a whim really, based on some words that Abram said God told me, “Leave your country and go where I show you”, not really very responsible I hear you say.

Anyway packing up took us days to organise, Abram you see, was comparably rich and successful. This creator God that Abram had started to believe and trust in appeared to have really blessed him with possessions and servants, yes we called ourselves servants but really we were his employees. We were happy to serve this God fearing, righteous man and thankful for the security his employment provided for us, so we, including us camels, were happy to be called servants, it was an honour to work for such a man, a man who trusted God and lived a righteous life.

There was much excitement amongst us all, especially us camels as we heard that we were preparing for a journey to a land of green fields and plenty of water, what more could a camel ask for?

There I go again, off on a prattle that deters me away from my recollections, memory and age just don’t go together, where was I? Ah yes, packing up the caravan (that’s what we called our group of camels) ready for our journey heading who knows where.

You see God, the mysterious figure that Abram believed in, and in whom he had complete faith, while all his contemporaries believed in many different gods, was the thing that set him apart from everyone else around him. He believed and trusted in one true God and was prepared to set out on a journey, not knowing where he was going, other than ‘a word from God’ which said “get up and go, leave all you know and trust me and I will bless you.” Not many people did it then and I guess not many people will do it in the future. I suppose you have to be pretty simple or pretty stupid?

To us it appeared a bit of a whim, yet to Abram it was obedience, he had no idea what was before him, if he did he may never have started this journey, but hey, you know what? I am so glad he did. I for one have a story to tell and I am sure others do as well, all because this one man was obedient to God.

You know that Abram was 75 years old when he set out on this journey don’t you? I mean it put us younger ones to shame. I for one was a young camel and a lazy one at that, I had grown accustomed to always having what I wanted, never had to take any responsibility for my actions. Life was easy, I was looked after and fed well, I had no need to over exert my self. I could sit around and watch all those adult camels going about their daily grind and all the young camels playing their games. What a life!

Little did I know that my adolescent life was about to change, I was going to enter the grown up male world which I should have entered when I was weaned from my mother some 10 years earlier. What a shock, suddenly I found myself having to do back breaking work, carry loads meant for experienced camels and go days without water. My father used to say this was man’s work not meant for boys and I suppose I should have entered it sooner instead of believing the lie that I could exist without taking any responsibility.

Well, off we set and after what seemed like days we arrived at Shechem a place in the hill country of Ephraim. It was here that we witnessed some kind of “spiritual awakening”, well Abram did anyway. Abram appeared to become so certain that “The Lord” had promised him all he could see. What I witnessed was a man who, whilst on the one hand appeared grateful and offered a sacrifice, yet on the other hand there seemed to be a restlessness about him, so off we set again to make our camp, of all places between Bethel and Ai, well I ask you, who would camp in no man’s land between the house of God (Bethel) and ruin (Ai), but, you know this is exactly where God wanted Abram, a place where he would have to trust Him implicitly for his very survival, you see, there where Canaanites living here as well, they could have over run us at any time. As I observed all this I began to realise that this God of Abram was someone who wanted to care and trust for those who obeyed and put their trust in Him.

It is difficult to say how long we were there but what I do know is that we were getting rather hungry, a famine was taking hold so my master decided, right or wrong, to pull out and take control, something you humans are rather good at. We mere animals just live for today and make do but you humans seem determined to be in control, I am so glad I don’t have your intellect, trying to work out life's problems. So off we set, heading south towards food, towards Egypt. It was as we were getting close I overheard Abram talking with his wife, Sarai. Well what I heard nearly made me want to vomit. Here was a man I had grown to love and respect and who had looked after me well, telling his wife that she had to tell the authorities that she was his sister just so HE did not get killed because of her beauty, how selfish, I thought, think of number one why don’t you. I actually found out later that Sarai was in fact Abram’s sister, well half sister anyway so may be it wasn’t so bad after all, small lies are not full blown lies are they and God forgives doesn’t He? I thought to myself at the time what is it about this God of Abram’s that just wants to go on loving and forgiving, loving and forgiving, those who put their trust in Him despite their obvious failings. I don’t think I ever did come to a satisfactory answer other than I am glad He does for Abram’s sake and for all of us who were fortunate enough to be called his servants.

Do you know the little trip down to Egypt made a big impression on me as I saw that this mighty God that Abram, my master was engaging with, learning from and learning about on each new day just cared for him and his family in a way that seemed unjustified and undeserved.

So off we set again, after being ticked off by the Pharaoh for misleading him, he instructed his guards and footmen to release Abram and his family together with all, yes all his possessions, I mean usually the top brass would retain something for themselves, but no Abram was yet again being protected by the almighty.

What Abram did next just demonstrated that he knew that God had kept and sustained him and that taking matters into your own hands just does not work. he set out from Egypt and headed straight back to the place where God had settled him in the first place, the place of security between Bethel and Ai, the place that God had promised to Abram that He would give him all the land. Abram did the only thing that can be done when Almighty God steps into our disasters, he built an alter and worshipped. He gave thanks for all that had been entrusted to him from above.

What I saw in this man, my master was someone who believed God and God counted him righteous because of his faith. It gave me, one of his trusted camels a sense of security knowing that my master served a greater master who even cared for me.

My grandfather concluded his story with some interesting words, words I later learnt were written down and would make their way into the the Christian Bible. They are words that I found, when applied to one’s life , give tremendous freedom and enable me to trust in a magnificent creator God. The words can be found in Genesis 13:17 and read “Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”

It would be many years later before this promise would become a reality.

Steve Ford has written about this on his blog site and you can read it by visiting http://blog.steveford.me.uk/search/label/Lessons%20from%20Joshua and scroll to the bottom and read from there upwards.

11 Jacob to Israel, A life transformed

Genesis 35:16-29

Jacob then encounters another devastating blow in his tumultuous life, his beloved Rachel dies in child birth, the girl he had served Laban 14 years for. What is God doing now? How can this Almighty God be in such tragedy? The truth is that we all die therefore the issue is not why but what. What can God teach me through such times. We don't read much about this time in Jacobs life except that we know that there was one child of around 3 -4 years old. A son that had been given by God as an answer to a cry 'Give me children or I die', a cry that needs to go up from all those who are truly filled with the Spirit of God, those who claim to be 'Christian'. God does nothing against free will and He certainly does nothing except in answer to prayer. Prayer is something that can be praise, thankfulness, gratitude, guidance or even distress as in Rachel's case.

This cry from Rachel ultimately cost her her life. Had she known this would she still have asked for children? The motive of the ask was not one from a selfish heart but from a heart that wanted her maternal instincts to be fulfilled. In a spiritual sense each one of us has desires within us that need to be fulfilled. By the Grace of God, through a transformed life, our desire is to bear spiritual children and to then nurture that life so that it matures into a life that bears fruit.

We are all spiritual, we cannot say "I am not into spiritual stuff", its too late because God created us spiritual. We are a spirit with a body not a body with a spirit. We need God to enlighten and possess that space for His glory. The on going experience will change our lives for ever.

So as Rachel cried 'Give me children or else I die' so we need to echo that cry and be moved so that we have this spiritual desire that 'all mankind might be saved'

Jacobs response to this tragedy was that he would not allow the name of his son born at this time to bear the name of "Son of my Sorrows", Benomi, but he called him "Son of my right hand", Benjamin. What do we do in these difficult situations, do we  give the devil the glory by dwelling in the past or do we give God the glory by pressing through and claiming victory.

Jacob never stayed at the place of his loss, he remembered Rachel and he took the two boys that he knew he was responsible for and moved on to a place that God had predestined for him, a place of reconciliation.

We read that Jacob went on to the place of firm ground, that is the place where Isaac his father still lived, it was also the place where Abraham, his grandfather had settled. The place was mamre which means 'place of firm ground' or 'firmness'.

It is at this place that Jacob, Esau and Isaac where reunited and where Jacob and Esau buried their father.

God has a wonderful way of bringing about repentance and reconciliation. God brings a man or a woman through many trials that causes them to face and challenge who they are and who they are meant to be in God.

It is only in God that we can find true meaning of life and it takes a lifetime to accomplish it.
Are we willing to follow Him who set us free through His Son or are we going to sit on the side lines and miss out on the action?

God wants to bring all of us into an ongoing relationship with Him that not only transforms our lives but also that of those around us.

On reflection let us look afresh at our lives and ask, "Does it reflect what God desires of me and do I honour Him and give Him what He rightly deserves based on what I know He has done for me?".

Lord show me where there are hindrances in my life and help me to address them. Give me this clear vision and purpose in my life that despite disastrous events or my sinful failings I am able to take the necessary steps that will bring me back to you, to the place where I know that I am safe in your loving arms, however great the cost.
Oh Lord thank you for your protection and thank you for your sustained Mercy that keeps me in your way and causes my enemies to flee from before me. Help me oh God to be thankful and grateful for all you have done in my life and in times of need cause me to remember the place where you first met me, my 'God Encounter'

This is the final instalment of "Jacob to Israel, A life transformed"

10 Jacob to Israel, A life transformed

Genesis 35:1-15

After all the problems of the previous chapter God is still in control and Jacob is still listening and following Almighty God. How is it that God is so patient with us? What is it that caused Jacob to hold fast to his 'God Encounter' and not give up? The answer is because God had not given up on him.

We find Jacob, in chapter 35, having to move on because of the disastrous actions of his sons. But he is not alone, the chapter starts "Then God said", "Arise, go up to Bethel". God is at work in all our situations and here He is bringing Jacob back to the place where he started his changed life, the place of the 'God Encounter'. God wants to remind Jacob that he has not forgotten him and that He is still interested in his life and surprisingly that of his family. It is comforting to know that God does not give up on us even when we fail Him.

Jacob has really learnt what it is to follow Almighty God. He instructs all his household in Genesis 35:2 to "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments."
We can read more about this 'putting off' and 'putting on'  in Colossians 3:8-11.

What Jacob is doing is calling his household to repentance.

• Put away
• identify what it is that is getting in the way of God working in our lives.
• Purify yourselves
• take action call on God to free us.
• Change your clothes.
• take off the old, the condemned, that which causes the problem and put on new fresh clothes, clothes supplied by God's amazing work of salvation.

True repentance will cost and requires action. We have to be willing to acknowledge that there are things in our lives which constitute as idols, things that get in the way of us following God. We then have to confess and "get right" which is to bring ourselves back into line with God. We call this being justified, we do this in conjunction with God not without Him. Jesus died to bring an end to Sin and in one selfless act justified us, or in other words made it possible for us to be right with God. That act of justification alone is useless if we as individuals do not allow ourselves to be justified.

Hebrews 12:1-3 talks about laying aside the things that hinder us from having a relationship with God. It calls us to look to Jesus the author and finisher of FAITH and then to consider HIM.

Jacob has called his household to repentance in Genesis 35:2 and in Genesis 35:3 he intercedes for them and leads the way back to Bethel, "The House of God", and to the place where Jacob had his first encounter with God Almighty. By his actions, Jacob assures his household that he will stand in the gap, he will take the initiative and call on God Almighty who had heard his cry and had held faithful to the promise that He would be with him.

We then find this decisive action and leadership that Jacob was demonstrating is the very thing that causes his household to heed his command in Genesis 35:2 "Put away the strange gods among you". Then in Genesis 35:4 they bring all their strange gods and their earrings in their ears and Jacob buries them underneath a great oak tree. When Jesus calls us to repentance the cost is great but necessary if we are to see the hand of Almighty God at work in our lives and situations. The call of repentance will always call us back to the original place where we first encountered God. We know that this ground is secure and that God can reiterate His original calling on this piece of land, He can also refresh us and equip us for the future as this is sacred, hallowed ground, the ground of our 'God Encounter'. Jesus takes all our "strange gods", those things that hinder us from getting to know Him and buries them at the foot of the cross, gone forever out of sight.

Jacob has called his family to repentance, he has dealt with 'the foreign gods' by buying them under the great oak tree, they are gone forever, and he is now set to move on. The cross is not the end of our life it is just the beginning we cannot always live in the shadow of the cross, yes we may need to return to it through out our lives but only to remind ourselves of the wonderful work of Salvation, to refresh ourselves and to equip ourselves for our continued journey.

Jacob had proved his faith, the Faith that had been imparted to him in his 'God Encounter', "Christ in you the hope of glory".

What we find here in Genesis 35:5 is that it would have been useless for Jacob's household to continue their journey had the repentance and justification not taken place. This one act of 'getting right', allowing themselves to be justified was the very act that protected them along the way. We read in Genesis 35:5 that "the terror of God was on the cities around them and they did not pursue them". This demonstrates that when we walk with God, in His ways, confessing our sin before Him then He is at liberty to protect us. Notice I use the word liberty because God does nothing to violate free will. In other words there has to be a partnership, a working together with Almighty God.

Jacob arrives at the place of his 'God Encounter', how many of us have ever revisited that place, the place where we first heard God speak, that decisive, defining moment when everything became clear. We need to hold onto that place as there will be times in our lives when we will need to remind ourselves of God's absolute faithfulness. Times when all seems lost yet as we see with Jacob he returned and built an alter for the second time and called it El-Bethel, God of the house of God.

Jacob has arrived at Padan-Aram, the place where he started out from some 20 years earlier. His troubles are not over, yet there is this kind of acceptance that God Almighty is in control. Jacob has come a long way from the days when he wanted to be in control, to a place where God is now in control.

God has a way with mankind that when we seek after Him He accomplishes within us that which causes us to be able to follow Him, even through adverse circumstances.

God appears to Jacob again at the same place where he had had his 'God Encounter' and blesses him. We can imagine God reminding Jacob of the wrestling match that they had together, you know the one where Jacob got injured, and says to him "your name is now Israel". In other words Jacob, "start living as a prince", "be different", "you have wrestled and prevailed and I love you and care for you".

It's as if God is saying things like "through all the trials of your life I have been with you, I have given good things to you because I love to give, I can't do any thing else, that is what I do, I give and I create".

God then says something that He says to all mankind. "Be fruitful and Multiply". This command was given to the first beings, Adam and Eve, and has been given down through the ages to all who would choose to follow Christ. 'Be fruitful and Multiply' God wants us to exercise that which is in Himself, to give and give and enable others to live.

Jacobs response is one of thankfulness, one of gratitude and worship. He builds an alter and pours a drink offering over it in recognition of the Almighty God who is over all and in all.