OPEN BOOK SOUNDBITE: BRUCE C. WEARNE has made some audio recordings to accompany his series on the letters of John. In the second of the series, Bruce takes a closer look at John. You can listen to it here... (11.4MB, 7.56 minutes)...

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BRUCE C WEARNE's introductory recording to the Letters of John can be found here... (5.9MB file, 3.04 minutes)...

NO GODS!

In conclusion to his letter, John uses a word that is also found in his account of Jesus' prayer on the night of His betrayal. That prayer is often called the High Priestly prayer. In that prayer, Jesus used this same word that John now uses here. The word signifies a "duty of care" and in His prayer Jesus says that: "those You gave to me I have kept." (John 17:17).

     As we read that prayer now we realise that it is a prayer filled with an immense sadness. Jesus recognises the loss of the one who betrayed Him but He had exercised "due care" for those His Father had given Him. As the Scripture had required of Him, He had then fulfilled its requirements (John 17:9). He had protected (EPHULAXA) them.

      BRUCE C WEARNE looks at the warning against idols contained in the last verse of I John...  | more... |

TRUE!

John concludes His letter with a litany of statements that "we know". It began with him explaining why he had written (5:1 3). His aim was to confirm his readers in their knowledge of eternal life. With that confidence (5: 14) they will know that their Father in Heaven wants to hear their requests and they will therefore know that He answers them completely whatever they may ask (5: 15).

     Then it was a matter of praying for those who are in some kind of compromising position - recalling John's own problematic silence during Jesus' trial - in the knowledge that the One who is born of God does not offend (5: 18).

     Then, writes John, we know that the entire world lies in the grip of the evil one (5: 19), but from what he had written earlier we know that this world is passing away (2:17). God's children direct their love not to the world but to doing the will of our Heavenly Father. The One who makes that possible abides forever (2: 17).

      BRUCE C WEARNE looks at the concluding verses of I John...  | more... |

JOHN EXPLAINS!

All wrong-doing is sin, but there is sin which is not deadly. We have already explained that John's own courage had failed him during the trial of Jesus. This was when Jesus was interrogated by the High Priest. He had answered: "I have spoken openly to all the world. I have taught at all times in synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews congregate. Not a word have I spoken in secret. Why are you questioning me? Ask those who heard me what I have told them; they know what I have said." (John 18: 19-25).

     "Such is the nature of sin that we can be trapped by our own ignorance, lack of awareness, even by our own innocence. It is still sin. We need to grow wise about our responsibilities under Heaven."
John was there, he tells us, but he was not speaking up at this point. Presumably, his own life was also in the balance. This was when one of the police struck Jesus a blow accusing Him of lacking respect for the High Priest. And so, when John wrote his Gospel, he was setting the record straight, allowing his readers to note his inability to step forward and defend his Teacher.

      BRUCE C WEARNE examines what John says about sin in I John 5...  | more... |

GOD HAS MADE HIMSELF KNOWN!

As I read through this letter, wondering whether we are actually being presented with an edited compilation of say two or three or four letters, it also becomes apparent that John has written about faith in Jesus Christ that is somewhat foreign to the usual way we think about these things.

     In his Gospel, John tells us that the first inklings of his believing were when he saw the empty tomb and the "linen wrapping rolled up in a place by itself" (John 20: 21) but without an understanding from the law and the prophets that the Messiah must be raised from the grave. For him not to believe would be tantamount to making God into a liar - after all Christ Jesus then came and presented Himself to the disciples and dispelled all fear, opening the way for them to receive the Holy Spirit (20: 22) and to live mercifully. How could He not believe under these circumstances?

     So are these the musings of an erstwhile philosopher, trying to re-jig his faith into a set of logical propositions? If they are followed with mental assent, would they not enable his readers to conclude that their intimate prayers of the Heavenly Father have been are answered?

      BRUCE C WEARNE continues his look at I John 5...  | more... |

GOD'S LOVE BRINGS FORTH FAITH'S CONFIRMATION

When we read our Bibles, structured as they usually are in chapters and verses, or in the present case in about 20 separate sections, we can too easily assume that when we come to a new verse or chapter or section we come to a new topic. The continuity between all that is written in this letter is somehow construed in terms of how our Bible translators and publishers have conveniently divided up the text for us.

     That is also why I have also suggested that we do not know for sure whether this "first letter" is one continuous letter, or whether it is a compilation of the letters John wrote to various groups of Christian believers. For this reason I suggest that readers continue to look carefully at what is presented at any one place in terms of what goes before and what comes after.

      BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at what John says in chapter five about the relationship of faith and love...  | more... |

LOVE IS OF GOD

I have translated the opening words of this passage as "dear people" (4: 7), a term that is also used elsewhere in John's letter (2: 7, 3: 2, 3: 21, 4: 1, 4: 11). Here it is particularly "poetic" in the sense that the phrase addresses the "much loved" (AGAPETOI) exhorting them to love (AGAPOOMEN) one another, since love (AGAPE) is God's gift to them; it is what has brought them forth so that it can even be said that loving (AGAPOON) is to know God. To have no love (AGAPE) is to be ignorant of God. And then there is the clincher: for God is LOVE (AGAPE). Effectively, that is the name of God that His Son has now made manifest.

    There are other appellations that John gives to his readers throughout this letter. There is what I have translated "my dear children" (TEKNIA MOU) (2: 1, 2: 12, 2: 28, 3: 7, 3: 18, 4: 4 and it is not used again until the final greeting 5: 21).

     TEKNIA, that is, children is used twice 3: 10 - as "the children of God" and 'children of the devil", and also in 5:2 our love for 'the children of God'.

      PAIDEIA is also used as a synonym for TEKNIA where it refers to children having been taught about the Father by their fathers and mothers.

      BRUCE C. WEARNE on a passage that's all about love...  | more... |

SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION

John had been a particularly zealous disciple of Jesus, somewhat protective of the integrity of the circle of the disciples. Mark and Luke tell us that John had been especially concerned when they came across a person who had been freeing people from the demons that plagued them by using Jesus' name (Mark 9: 38-41; Luke 9: 49-50).

     Jesus had corrected him in these terms: "Do not hinder him! For no one doing a powerful work in my Name will be capable thereafter to speak evil of me. For who is not against us is for us. For truly let me tell you this: whoever gives you a drink of water because you have Christ's surname will by no means go unrewarded." (Mark 9: 39-41).

     Later John and his brother James complained to Jesus about a Samaritan town that would not offer the party hospitality on their way up to Jerusalem. Their request of their Rabbi to call down fire from heaven upon these unfriendly neighbours drew Jesus' stern rebuke (Luke 9: 51-56). So something of great significance has happened in John's life. His enthusiastic commitment to safeguarding the circle of disciples from "outsiders" has been transformed. His concern has been turned inside-out because of the One who by His Spirit, the Spirit of truth, dwells in their midst.

      BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at the first few verses of I John, chapter 4...  | more... |

CONTINUING ON, REMAINING IN HIM - AT HOME

What we read here is the stupendous account of John's discovery that the Son of God had extended the family circle of the Lord. Those who take on His considered advice, His precepts, should be in no doubt whatsoever concerning the pleasure of the Heavenly Father in seeing His eternal purposes coming to expression in the lives of ordinary humans as they learn to love one another and live by what He has taught.

     Clearly, John believes that he writes at the start of something that he has no ultimate control over. What he writes is to confirm the praise of Psalm 90:

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place
From age to age our sure abode
Before the mountains were brought forth
From everlasting Thou art God!
So may your favour on us rest;
And make our work grow as you will
It's up to you our work to bless
The purposes of our lives to fill."

      BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a detailed look at I John 3:24...  | more... |

DON'T BE GOBSMACKED BY HATE - GOD KNOWS ALL THINGS!
During Jesus' ministry He went among His local community. When He taught in the synagogue there was, at first, surprise (HEXEPLESSONTO), which then became a moral panic, and those of his own home town were deeply scandalised (HESKANDALIZONTO) (John 1: 11) by Him. On that occasion, Mark tells us: "And on account of their unbelief Jesus marvelled" (Mark 6: 6).

     This experience, we are told, was a surprise to Jesus. This disbelief came to the Son of God as a wonder, even as a miracle. And yet now in this passage from John's letter we hear the disciple whom Jesus loved telling his readers: "Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, upon discovering that the world hates you."

     What are we to make of this? Jesus marvelled as the disbelief of those of His own home town who preferred to find refuge in their own cruel rumour-mongering gossip about Him. Meanwhile the disciples of Jesus are told explicitly not to be surprised when faced by the hatred of the world! Is this not somewhat dissonant?

      BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at I John...  | more... |

GETTING INTO THE PRACTICE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Why, given what he has already told us, should John be reiterating this? Haven't we been told the gist? Why go into a difficult discussion about sin (what I translate as "offence") and what it all means? After all, is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Righteous One sufficient? Is it not the case that I John 1: 8-10 tells us all we need to know? Are we made any more righteous by simply going over and over the same old story, again and again?

     "Were we say that we have no offence, we (simply) deceive ourselves, the truth (has departed and) is not in us. When we confess our offences, he being faithful and righteous, we do so in order that he may forgive us for our offences and make us clean from all offence. Were we to assert that we have not offended, we would make him out to be a liar, and (in that case) his word is (simply) not in us." - I John 3: 8-10
      Well, actually, if we attend to what John tells us here, we note the urgency with which has written. To be "in Christ" is not only to be counted righteous but to be and to become righteous: to walk as He walked. This is why there is such urgency in John's letter; let there be no doubt about it (verse seven). To be "in Christ" is to be caught up in God's cosmic purposes, as a member of His family, from before the beginning!

      BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at I John...  | more... |

GRASP THIS!

John looks to the future. After all, what has been established for us points us to the path of service laid out for us in the days ahead, the days allotted to us in this life. To have grasped that Jesus Christ is the long-promised "Anointed of the Lord" is to believe that our Father in Heaven has truly grasped us, has truly enfolded us in His Fatherly embrace as members of His family, as children of God alongside His Son by whom he has made Himself known when Jesus Christ put in His appearance for us.

     So that means that we live in the sure knowledge that He has set us apart for Himself - to be like Him because He was made to be like us, yet without sin! In Christ Jesus the very image of God has been decisively and irrevocably restored so that we can now bring the familial love we share as members of God's family (AGAPE) into its right focus. That is, after all, what we are. That is how we are now to live in God's family.

      BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at John's message in I John...  | more... |

WHAT IS THE BEGINNING?

What has Jesus promised to those who follow Him? The answer to this question helps us deal with what seems, at this point in the letter, to be a most difficult problem in interpretation. It has to do with one little word which is characteristic of John's contribution in his Gospel and in this letter - it is the little word "beginning" (ARCHE): "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God" (John 1:1), and, "It was what has been since the beginning" (I John 1: 1)   
      John doesn't differentiate between different uses of "beginning". He seems to simply refer to all of them at the same time. And now we read of that "beginning" in the context of Jesus' promises to us, in the context of His provision of "eternal life", life from here on. Heeding this we receive life. We heed what we have heard. We have heard what has been spoken from the beginning...and so in hearing this word, we realise it has also been spoken to us "from the beginning".

      BRUCE C. WEARNE examines John's use of the word 'beginning' in chapter two of his first letter...  | more... |

IN THE KNOW - FAMILY SOLIDARITY AT THE LAST HOUR

The love (AGAPATE) to be shown by the beloved (AGAPETOI - 2: 7), the adopted family of the Father in the Son of God, is truly "in Him and in you" (2: 8). It is not given to be transferred to the world or anything in the world. That means that the given conditions of our life under heaven are not to replace - indeed cannot replace - the love given to us by our Heavenly Father.

     John notes that it is possible for the love the Father gives (AGAPE) to be misdirected away from His family's life. To misdirect that love is to completely by-pass the love of the Father; it is also to radically misunderstand and misappropriate the gifts He showers upon us. When that happens the person or persons involved remain outside His Fatherly embrace even though they have been invited to share in His love.

      BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a look at John's warning not to deny the Son...  | more... |

TO WHOM AM I WRITING?

So many of the letters of the New Testament, particularly those of Paul, are written to churches. The letters that frame the Apocalypse are also all to churches, even though the individual reader is made privy to these letters dictated by Jesus Himself, the One who moves among the candlesticks. But this letter from "the disciple whom Jesus loved" is different.

     In sending out this encouraging reiteration of the teaching of his Rabbi, John shows his deep concern to connect with all those who might be in earshot, those who now find themselves caught up in the light that Jesus has brought. In this respect, his letter confirms that the Good News of Jesus Christ makes its direct appeal to children - "let the children come to me, stop hindering them!" - even as it reminds parents of their task before Heaven to bring up their offspring "in the fear and admonition of the Lord".

      BRUCE C. WEARNE says John's audience was 'different' to some of the other New Testament books...  | more... |

WHAT NEW COMMANDMENT?

Does John have any choice in writing this letter? As with Paul (see II Corinthians 5: 14: the love of Christ constrains us), John finds himself lovingly constrained. It is not something of his own devising. He's conveying God's love to them. He writes in the friendship that binds them in the love they have been made to share.

     His appeal, "dearly loved people" (AGAPETOI), is not something that can be kept under wraps. To keep one's own counsel and remain silent, to fail to write what he is now writing, is too close to stumbling around in the dark. John is obviously constrained by what has "newly" dawned upon him and he just cannot keep it to himself.

     Notice how John uses the distinctions "ancient" and "new", "darkness" and "light". It is, as it were, when these distinctions intersect in what he now writes, that this new commandment, Jesus' declaration to His disciples, comes in great power - "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you, so you also love one another. By this you shall be known by all as my disciples" (John 13: 14, see also 15: 12-14). This rule for Jesus' friends is as old as creation and it is by this that they are to be known every new day as it is obeyed in their lives.

      BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at why John feels "lovingly constrained" to write about God's love...  | more... |

THE ADVOCATE OF COMFORT AND REASSURANCE

This is not to be read as a recitation of theological propositions as if their purpose is for us to read them and then give our assent by "signing on the dotted line", in order to logically derive the conclusion of the matter.

     John, we recall, went through the arrest, trial and crucifixion of his "personal advocate". He writes out of the comfort that this same person - Jesus, the Messiah, God's Righteous One - has conferred upon him. He goes with us, He comforts us, He intercedes with the Father for us, He walks with us. He stands by our side pleading our cause with His Father. That is His task. That is His task for us.

     And what is our task in response as we walk in His way? We keep His commandments, the precepts by which he lived and by which He walked. This is a description, by one of Jesus' first disciples, of how he had been put back, well and truly, on that path when "his foot had almost slipped". Indeed, says John, God in Christ Jesus reveals Himself as thoroughly on the side of the upright (Psalm 73: 2, 1).

      BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at the start of chapter two in I John...  | more... |

OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS; WALKING IN THE LIGHT

John the "beloved disciple" knows what he is writing about. For him it is as plain as day. Jesus has declared Himself to be the "light of the world" (John 8: 12-20), and John freely goes ahead and reiterates this.  

     God indeed is light and in Him there is no darkness whatsoever. It has also been so, from the beginning. There is no darkness on God's side of this relationship. He has now restored us and Jesus is with us as our friend, our belovéd. Those who revere His name, who walk in the light that He brings, experience this eternal fellowship with Him. He truly is the sun of righteousness which day-by-day rises upon our life with healing in its wings (Malachi 4: 2).

     This message might tell us how to think, but it doesn't suggest that first we have to get our thinking right to understand what follows. No. This is a declaration. It is declared to inform the readers and listeners about who God is to them and who they are to God.

   In his new series looking at 1 John, BRUCE C. WEARNE examines verse five to 10 of chapter one...  | more... |

BEGINNING WITH THE BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP

What binds the writer of this letter to his readers? What binds "us" to "you"? It is what "we" here declare to "you": "our" unity, is in the life given to "us". That which was given to "us" is what we now proclaim to "you". It is what has been given from the beginning, has been revealed to "us".

     Such is this revealed gift of eternal life that "our" joyful fulfilment of what we have seen and heard now comes for "us" in declaring it, passing it on, to "you". And what is this but life in the light of Jesus' abiding friendship (John 15: 14-15)? It is this amazing revelation that frames the New Testament contribution of John, the "disciple whom Jesus loved." He was evidently amazed by it and writes to us so that we too may share this friendship.

     That seems to be why the first letter of John, as with his other letters and his Gospel, is notable for its repeated declaration of the joy in binding "us" or "we" to "you", of ensuring that what is "ours" is "yours". It is a letter written in the knowledge that this friendship is nothing less than "eternal life" (ZOOEN TEN AIOONION) given to us with the Father's Only Son, Jesus Christ.

   In his new series looking at 1 John, BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at the opening lines of the letter...  | more... |

WHAT HAS HAD TO BE WRITTEN

How does a person who has heard, seen, looked upon, touched the One he believes to be Israel's Messiah subsequently live out his life in the years allotted to him?

     This is a question that not only refers to the life of John, who wrote one of the Gospels, and also these three letters, but to all the New Testament writers along with other apostles and disciples mentioned in the New Testament writings.

     In particular, we not only think of John the Baptist's disciples (see Acts 19), but John the Baptist's extended family among whom were, we are told, John and his brother James, the sons of Zebedee, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus' own brothers and sisters. What John has told us in his Gospel is that Jesus Himself, directed him, from the Cross, to look after His mother.

    In the first of a new series looking at 1 John, BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a broad look at what the letter's all about...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - FINAL POST-SCRIPT

The letter which previously we have noted is steeped in the solidarity of priestly and pastoral "duty of care", now calls upon the readers of the letter to also show this priestly regard in a variety of immediate and local ways.

     They have their own leaders, those who, like the watchers for the morning on the city gates (Psalm 130: 6), have their own tasks to perform and are accountable for their stewardship. Their concern for their leaders is not to be merely some ethic of dutiful subservience, but the deep concern fellow believers have for each other, that their service be truly joyful and free of all anguish. In this regard the letter calls upon all the readers, and not just the leadership, to take up their God-given responsibilities in solidarity, "and all the more as the day dawns" (10: 25). The letter concludes by drawing on the repeated theme of a Christian life lived in the light of God's purposes which are "in the process" of being realised in their lives.

    In his final instalment of his series on Hebrews, BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at the concluding paragraphs of chapter 13...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - LIFESTYLE ON THE WAY

The letter now concludes with various admonitions about the way these believers in the Messiah should view their lives. God has always intended that His image-bearers demonstrate His love with love for each other. Since that love is boundless they too should be busy pushing out the limits of their love. With their fellows they are to go all the way, just as Jesus had taught: "But I say unto you, love your enemies...you therefore shall be perfect (that is, in the ways outlined) just as you Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5: 43-48).

     Jacob and Esau were eventually reconciled, even if it were an uneasy truce between them as they lived out their lives on different spiritual paths. Still, they were brothers and the brotherly love they could show was indeed a fruit of God's mercy to them in that relationship, even if Esau's tears were not those borne of repentance (12: 17). Joseph and his brothers were also reconciled. One cannot be a follower of Jesus Christ without Him being a brother. And so, brotherly love is inherent in the Christian life. His love is not given to remain within bounds. This love is "on the way" to its complete fulfilment and is expressed in bonds that reach out in all directions.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at Hebrews 13...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - A MORE EXCELLENT, UNSHAKEABLE KINGDOM

The reiteration continues. In fact, we recall that the entire letter has been framed by a knowledge of that Gospel which, though it had been spoken about to the ancestors, now has been given directly from heaven by God's Son.

     The task of entering God's rest, which now lies before those who are sprinkled with the Messiah's blood, is sharply contrasted with the fear and trembling experienced at Mount Sinai. This path now is not one of noise and explosive power (verse 18); this is not a matter of dreadful words which made Moses flinch and which the people had no ear to hear, no competence to digest, no ability to understand (verse 19). So then what is this path?

     For a few sentences the writer briefly draws a picture of how following Christ will culminate in the "Great Day", providing an insight into the completion of all things, an apocalyptic glimpse of what it will be like when finally God's people are all gathered in to share His rest. This is what has always been God's creational purpose from the beginning.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE on Hebrews' vision of the future...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - NOT ILLEGITIMATE BUT CHILDREN OF GOD

The writer comes alongside his readers and, from what he says, it seems he knew that they had been raised in a relatively cohesive and well-disciplined community. They respected their earthly fathers for the discipline they meted out. The discipline did not exceed all bounds and eventually won the respect of the offspring. Is any less respect due to the Lord for the discipline He inflicts, the trials He allows them to undergo? Once again the letter is reminiscent of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples: "Bring us not into (the way of) temptation; save us from the time of trial".
      In so far as this prayer is taken-for-granted, it must be assumed that one is going to need the help of the Father in Heaven, not just when things get difficult, but in order to prevent us from having to undergo such trials. And they have had to endure such continuous and repeated trials (10: 32-34).

     This discussion reiterates the admonition that was interleaved in the writer's previous discussion, reminding readers that sometimes such prayer, which should never be too far from their lips, might not be answered in the affirmative. In such situations, the Father in Heaven, for reasons known only to Himself, deems it necessary that His own children undergo discipline (PAIDEIA).

    BRUCE C. WEARNE on what the writer of Hebrews says about discipline and right-standing...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - BY FAITH, ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, TODAY

We are all in this together! That is what the writer tells his readers. And it is also more than that; the purpose of this list is to re-emphasise the inheritance of faith, an inheritance which surely culminates in the Royal Priesthood of Christ Jesus. Nevertheless, this faith has followed a path that has struggled and suffered, requiring much patient endurance.

     As a brief résumé, it is certainly no advertisement for an "easy life". But it is also a telling summary of what the Old Testament should now mean to those with a New Testament faith. Don't get carried away by whatever victories were achieved, the path of faithfulness was often extremely hard to find amidst many temptations and trials; and when the path was found extraordinary privations and conflicts soon followed.

     The emphasis, once again, is upon their identity as "strangers and pilgrims", the contemporary sons and daughters of Abraham and Sarah "on the way". The letter, as we have noted time and again, is full of instances where the writer enjoins his readers to hold firm, to exercise patience, to be more diligent, to grow up, and to better understand what has been done, and is being done, for them.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE on what Hebrews says about running our race to its completion...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - BY FAITH, FORSAKING ALL

We have reviewed the story of God's promises and noted how the promised blessings of the covenant from generation to generation were not cancelled when the recipients of these promises failed in their marital and familial responsibilities. In working with a peculiar people of faith, God was also making a way by which Abraham and Isaac and their descendents could fully take up their marriage responsibilities and their duties as parents. The way they understood God's covenant may have been confused with the rules they made for family inheritance but in time these rules, and the administration thereof, became matters for wise deliberation.

     When we come to read about the faith of Moses, it is notable that we are told of the faith of his parents, and the strategic decision they took after three months to send a strong message in the way they complied with the edict of the Pharaoh, which demanded that all the Hebrew new-born male children be cast into the Nile.

     Clearly, this faithful scheme, devised by his parents, was not only aimed at keeping their son alive, but it was to do all they possibly could to fulfil their God-given duties to their son in that increasingly oppressive situation. Faith has everything to do with forming strong and faithful parents, who love, care and provide for their children. So they hid the child and then, when the baby Moses could be hid no longer, they devised a scheme by which an implicit appeal was made to unfulfilled maternal instincts of a young woman within the family and court of Pharaoh.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his examination of Hebrews 11...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - LOOKING AHEAD TO BLESSINGS ON THE WAY

Just as his father had discovered, Isaac found that the blessings which the Lord showered upon him were preparation for "things on the way". Isaac therefore, in imparting blessing to Jacob and Esau, gave them the most important thing he could have given them - a knowledge that they were bound to this "way", as the Lord Almighty kept working with them and their generations to bring about His purposes.

   It is also noteworthy that the writer passes on without comment about the way in which the covenantal blessings became confused by the fraternal enmity between Isaac's twin-born sons. Seemingly, the struggle between them went very deep, beginning even during Rebekah's uncomfortable confinement. Jacob, the "supplanter", was the one with whom God's covenant would be renewed, even though this coincided with the onset of profound dysfunctions in their family life, and then later on for Jacob's chaotic family as well.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE examines Hebrews 11: 20-22...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

And now we come to the second reference to Abraham's faith in this letter's listing of those who lived by faith. This is the (albeit brief) account of the faith of the sojourning-pastoral man who, having obeyed God, is also part of a story which prefigures the priestly sacrifice of the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. And in this prefiguring, we read the awful demand God gave to Abraham to give up his son Isaac, as if Isaac could be thought of as that lamb.

     The prospect of being led into this temptation, that by which the Lord burdened the agéd Abraham, is so horrendous that the account of his faith on that occasion can only prod us to pray with greater urgency the prayer the Lord Himself taught His disciples. The recipients of this letter had been sorely tempted (10: 32-33) but not to the extent that blood had been shed (12: 4). Would not they (and us) be broken completely if this command of the Lord to Abraham were issued to them (us)? Would not our faith collapse completely, shattered, under the weight of so irksome a trial? Would it not tell us that God Himself was tempting is to sin? (James 1: 13).

    BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at what Hebrews says about Abraham and Isaac in chapter 11...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - PEOPLE WITH THE LORD'S SURNAME

Throughout, we have been emphasising the importance of reading this letter as one of admonition and encouragement to Jewish Christians living in Greek-speaking communities dispersed around and beyond the Roman Empire. It is written by one who, having been given the apostolic task of taking this good news out to all nations, wrote to assist these communities of Jewish believers to comprehend the implications of what had been "spoken in these last days" (1: 2). We know from Acts 2 that the birth of the Christian church began at Pentecost, when many Jewish believers of the dispersion received the Gospel with great joy.

     But is it not too easy for us to ignore this initial focus? We may still derive some benefit from the letter, encouraging ourselves and applying the teaching to how we approach our Christian responsibilities in the 21st century. But can we avoid the assumption in our line-by-line reading that it was written, in the first instance, to us, even if we couch that assumption piously in terms of "us with the church at all times and in all places"? To do so may well mean we ignore the specific intent of the writer. And that, I suspect, is why aspects of what is written here will remain obscure. Sure, it now comes to us, but it does so after it was initially written for these Jewish Christians. And that is of particular significance for our interpretation of this passage.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at Hebrews 11: 13-16...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - BY FAITH, ABRAHAM AND SARAH...

If we judge life in terms of the ability to bring forth new life into the world, well then this couple were as good as dead. But from them God was able to bring forth a great people and He did so eliciting their trust and faith. Obviously, He is that kind of Lord. And because He did so, Abraham and Sarah are remembered as the parents of Isaac and grandparents of Jacob. So, this listing could hardly ignore them.

     Because of their faith they obeyed; for them it became most important to live out their days in the expectation of what God had promised and was continuing to promise. What God was going to give them; what they surely could not provide for themselves.

     Indeed, the inheritance promised to Abraham - a city God would build and establish - would only be fully manifested well beyond their own life-times. But they only came to know and understand this by living by faith within the context of His promises. And still, the promise of blessing for all the world was the bequest to which Abraham and Sarah, with Isaac and Jacob, were made rightful heirs. It defined their lives and their generations.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a look at why the writer of Hebrews uses Noah as an example of a faithful man...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - BY FAITH, NOAH...

Faith is not only an approach to God knowing/believing that He rewards those who seek Him. Faith is moved with fear by anticipating God's judgement upon sin.

     Moreover, God's promises do not come without His warnings. And hearing such warnings, faith also gets to work, even if this is an incisive and disruptive intrusion in the midst of prevailing human presumption. This is the "here and now" inheritance of those who, in every age since Noah, are made heirs of the righteousness of Christ.

     The deliverance of Noah's family came as the culmination of an extended period when it seemed as if God, in responding to man's complete apostasy, had prepared the earth for complete destruction.
     And so faith is here described in terms of a hope, born of fear; a trust that one must obey God rather than man. This indeed renders Noah as heir of the right-standing that God will, in His good time, definitively establish.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a look at why the writer of Hebrews uses Noah as an example of a faithful man...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS: THE FAITH OF ABEL AND ENOCH

The letter continues by listing the names of those associated with faith, the genealogy of redemption. Abel and Enoch are two examples of those with faith well before the covenants with Noah and Abraham were promulgated. The discussion places the Christians in a long historical line - but it is not just genealogical in the sense of linking them to an ancient and sacred tradition. Rather, it underscores the active working of the Lord Almighty Himself in all generations, from the beginning, and specifically since the fall of Adam, calling men and women back to His ways, by a path of faith along which the Image of God will certainly be restored. Faith was still active when those obedient to the Lord, like Abel and Enoch, walk with the Lord despite not having much by way of a "faith lineage" and precedent to go on.

     Though it was very long ago, there is ongoing significance in Abel's accepted sacrifice. It still speaks. God Himself maintains the meaningfulness of Abel's faith, despite the fact that his life ended with a cruel and jealous murder at Cain's hand, and even if it were so long ago in antiquity.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a look at why the Letter to the Hebrews draws on the examples of Abel and Enoch...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS: WE GO ON IN FAITH

The writer re-emphasises: just as the Lord is patient, now it is time for you to demonstrate patience in your persistent service. And so, the point is pressed home by reminding them of what he also knew concerning their former "celebrity status". In recent times they had been enlightened by the dawn of the Gospel, and this had brought vilification and persecution. They were joined with many others with whom they might not ever have associated. Are they to regret the association? On no account! Persistence is needed! Retreat is not an option. After all, life, the breathe of life, is now bequeathing Christ's inheritance in their new life.

     Those who have faith take hold of the life that is on offer. Faith confirms the hope, it serves to patiently endure on the basis of what has been promised. Here the word "elders" (PRESBUTEROI) seems to refer comprehensively to all those who have gone before and who are listed in this most ancient lineage of faith. It is not just the "fathers" (1: 1 PATRASIN). Because the letter goes on to provide an historical list, with Abel and Enoch the initial persons identified (verses 3 to 4), followed by Noah, Abraham and Sarah (verses 5 to 12), Bible translations seem to assume that this is a completely new section.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE on Hebrews' encouragement to go on...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - WITHOUT WAVERING WE GO ON

At this point in the letter the writer takes up many themes that he has presented earlier on. He has been calling on his readers to hold fast to the profession they have previously made. He has emphasised the importance of gathering together. The ones whom the Great Priest takes with Him into the Kingdom of God still need each other's mutual encouragement. Their responsibilities for each other, for the world in which they live, and for the Lord who Rules and Shepherds them, depends on this.

     So, he is being insistent and maintains this emphasis. Don't go drifting away! (2: 1). Consider, he says, the greatness of the bequest granted you, against the severity of the punishment that awaits if you were to neglect it (2: 2). Keep in mind the consequences of hardening your heart (3: 12-14). Are you fully aware of how unbelief leads to destruction? (4: 1). Have you allowed the Gospel to penetrate your consciousness completely? (4: 2) Have you actually matured in your understanding? (6: 11) Shouldn't you be teachers by this stage? Where now is your exhortation of one another? (5: 11)

    BRUCE C. WEARNE on a warning in Hebrews 10...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - ONE PRIEST OVER GOD'S HOUSEHOLD

It is all over with the Levitical Priesthood. That is not to say that it is thereby rendered meaningless. But it is to say, quite unequivocally, that its true meaning and purpose is found in what it foreshadowed. And now that what it foreshadowed has come, and we know that it has come, it has been superseded. The sacrifices it was to offer are dispensed with. The sacrifices were, and remain, a reminder of the Lord's faithfulness, His mercy and His patience. He showed them that if His people had faith and walked in His ways, by imaging Him in His mercy and patience, He would indeed take care of their wayward ignorance once and for all. And that He has now done with a Priest who does that completely.

     The difficulty with this letter, as we have been at pains to point out, concerns our need to listen to, and follow, the line of discussion for those to whom it was first addressed. Only then should we move on to develop any specific implications for "ourselves" today. We should read this remembering that it was written for the earliest generations of Jewish and Hebrew Christians.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at chapter 10 of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - THE SHADOW IN THE LIGHT OF THE PROMISE

Those who, having been disciplined liturgically to participate as the Lord's own guilty-but-redeemed people, in rites which culminated in the yearly sprinkling of the blood from a spotless sacrificial lamb (John 1: 29, 36 Exodus 12:1-5, Leviticus 22:17-33), have been, year by year, not only involved in a rite that recalls the Passover, but in a symbolic reaffirmation of Abraham's words to Isaac on Mount Moriah: "God Himself will provide a lamb for sacrifice my son" (Genesis 22: 8).

     The sacrifices came to a yearly culmination in the Day of Atonement rite (Exodus 30: 10). They were to continue, maintaining a generation-by-generation consciousness of their dire need for the Lord's forgiveness. But this meant that these sacrifices themselves were not the fulfilment of God's promises. They were fully recipients of the Lord's promises but they were involved in a liturgy of the "not yet", learning anew that God would fulfil His purposes for His creation in His time.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE examines the first 10 verses of Hebrews' chapter 10...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - ONCE OFFERED; CONSPICUOUSLY THERE - NOW!

The sin that this covenanted ritual had to reckon with - the blundering ignorance among God's people that neglects His ways and forgets His promises (8: 9) - had to be overcome if they were ever to stand before Him with integrity and present their gifts and sacrifices. They needed cleansing. And, from their rituals they needed to gain the assurance of the forgiveness of the Lord, as well as being encouraged by a fixed hope that He was keeping His promises, busily bringing about complete restoration.

     That, then, is what the blood and the sprinkled ashes of the heifer were to signify to them. By this sprinkling, the worshippers ritually shared in a prefiguring of death having the covenantal promise that this was how access to grace would be found (Exodus 34: 6-7). It would indeed signify their own bodily death and, as such, these ritual cleansing activities allowed those sprinkled to be in the proximity of the Holiest of Places. Then they could participate in the rituals depicting and proclaiming their true situation which, indeed, their Lord dearly wanted them to know about and understand.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at Hebrews' explanation of how Christ did away with sin through His sacrifice...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - COMPLETE DELIVERANCE

The ancient liturgical practises under the Levitical code are described only in outline - "we cannot speak more at this point" - for a specific purpose. This is not simply reminding Jewish Christians of things they should already know about. Nor is it here for historical interest or to allow readers to make comparisons. Instead, the letter tells its readers that the Levitical liturgy was a way by which the Holy Spirit disclosed the purposes of the Lord to the Lord's specially chosen people. And since Christ's arrival as High Priest, this is clearer than it has ever been.

     The disclosure in terms of symbols - earthly objects that spoke of holiness - refer to the complete integrity with which a true worshipper stands before the Lord Almighty; they speak of life and death, of sin and of forgiveness. The ritual centred on the yearly offering of blood by the High Priest, and it was to be conducted in recognition of God's promises despite the perpetual ignorance of God's Own People.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at Hebrews chapters eight and nine...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - THE SUM OF THE MATTER

It is said that this new covenant is promulgated on "better promises". What could that mean? Is God to be viewed as somehow acting imperfectly in a "first attempt" covenant only to now bring out a new and updated version? Is that what is on offer here? What indeed does "better promises" mean? "Better promises" than what? Read in the context of the entire letter these "better promises" involve the restoration of God's Image Bearer to the place assigned humans in creation, which involves a restoration of the entire created order.

     The meaning of this complex passage can be lost if the relation of the "old" to the "new" is interpreted as a false covenant giving way to a true one. That is not what is in view here. Such a line of discussion, though it may seem very compelling in some abstract logical sense, is not how the letter writer describes the state of affairs. This new covenant is not true in opposition to an old covenant which is false but is what the Gospel declares when it reveals "the Word became flesh and tabernacled amongst us".

     It is what John the Baptist said when he confessed "He must increase; I must decrease".

    BRUCE C. WEARNE sums up what the writer of Hebrews has been talking about...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - ...AND HENCEFORTH A GREATER

If a Jewish Christian were to measure his or her obligation to the Lord by how one's duty to the hereditary "line" of Israel's priestly family is performed then, by being reminded that Levi's tithing obligation was already implicated in Abraham's tithe to Melchizedek, it might help such a believer to see that priesthood has always been relative to the Lord's covenantal promises and purposes. But this only raises, once more, questions about Melchizedek's significance as a priestly-king. Now that Christ has come, according to this Melchizedekian pattern, the law's strict delineation between King and Priest (see, for example, the case of King Uzziah's attempt to usurp a priestly role in II Chronicles 26) is itself superseded in the Son of God's assumption of the priestly role.

     And in fact, if we read this complex passage carefully we will see that the writer is actually talking about the One who, by oath of the Lord Almighty, assumes the Melchizedekian office in perpetuity, forever. So it is not about Melchizedek in some way being opposed to the Levitical priesthood. Rather, the Son of God, the Messiah, has now assumed a kingly priesthood, taking upon Himself the name of Melchizedek.

    BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at the Letter to the Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - READING WITH RENEWED HINDSIGHT

Previously, I have mentioned what I take to be an understandable temptation confronting us as we work our way through this letter. It is understandable because this letter is, in fact, somewhat foreign to our everyday way of thinking. Not completely different perhaps, but significantly so. We may too easily assume that because it is a New Testament book, and since the New Testament is a gift of the Lord to the disciples of Jesus in every age, then surely its message must become familiar to us if only we try hard enough to apply its statements to ourselves.

     Since we have now covered the "preliminaries" of how King Jesus is our High Priest, are we not ready to see ourselves as the spiritual benefactors of the long line of faith that this letter presupposes? Christ has come. The King has now ascended to sit on the right hand of the Majesty on High; we are "all one in Christ Jesus"; Christ now dwells in our hearts by faith; we have the power to comprehend with all the saints the breadth and length, the height and the depth of His love (see Ephesians 3: 17-18). So what is this temptation I am talking about?

     As part of a series looking in-depth at the Letter to the Hebrews, BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a look at why the writer goes to so much trouble explaining that Christ supercedes the High Priests of old - and why it's a message that is still relevant to us today...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - MELCHIZEDEK'S GREATNESS

Why is Melchizedek so great? The meaning of the passage here turns on this observation: "It is beyond all (argument) that the lesser is (here) blessed by the (greater)" (7: 7).

     The words "lesser" and "greater" have been used earlier in the letter, when the writer seeks to explain the coming of the Messiah, the Son of Man who fulfilled the office of man: "But we do see the One who, having Himself (also) been limited a little (compared) to angels, (that is) Jesus, now crowned with (that) status and honour because of (His) suffering unto death, in which through God's grace He has tasted death for all" (2: 9).

     And this is the One who "was not to take on the (office of) angels, but rather...the seed of Abraham. And in so doing, He in all ways bound Himself to become (just) like His brothers, (in order to) become a sympathetic and faithful High Priest in regard to the things of God, (and) concretely demonstrate the (divine) mercy which covers the sins of the people." (2: 16-17).

     In his study of Hebrews, BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at what the references to Melchizedek's greatness are about...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - OUR OWN MELCHIZEDEK; OUR OWN SERVICE!

If these dull and hard-of-hearing Hebrews needed any encouragement to follow Abraham's example and "keep going", this is it. Since Ur of Chaldees it was always going to be in long-suffering patience that those called gain whatever God has promised to give them (see also James 1: 2-8). 

     But how do God's weakened-by-sin image bearers in their walking around on the earth now find the long-suffering patience they need to receive what God has promised to give? The better road, the better option, lies on the path that God has opened up to us. But how is this path to be found as a way that opens up to what God provides? This "mystery of grace", reminds us of Thomas' querulous comment:  "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" (John 14: 5).

     That was the question of a disciple who had, at that point, sufficiently grasped his need to at least ask the question, but who had not yet appreciated, with the Holy Spirited certainty of Pentecost, the need of all God's chosen, for a priest, an intercessor, who is able
"with compassionate ability (to) work with the ignorant and the wayward" (5: 2).

     BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at chapter six of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - GET GOING! KEEP GOING!

We have suggested that our difficulties in understanding the letter at this point can be resolved by noting how the writer draws attention to God's faithfulness to His promises: "For in giving His guarantee to Abraham, God swore by Himself, because there was no one greater by whom He could swear" (6: 13).

     This gives us the Genesis reference from which we appreciate the context in which God's covenantal promises to Abram were confirmed. So with Melchizedek's kingly and priestly "pastoral care" at his elbow, we suggest that Abram was able to keep his distance from the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah whose historic domains some time later were wiped off the map in a dreadful judgment. The outcry against the abominations perpetrated in those realms, had indeed reached the ears of the Lord God, and were confirmed by divinely-sent messengers who had been sent to investigate what was going on. Lot was again delivered though it was a close shave.

     The writer of this letter is saying that there is the way of the Lord which, in the Lord's time, leads to a flourishing and, with the Lord's blessing, results in crops for those who have spent time cultivating the land. And we learn elsewhere that righteous Lot, just as his revered uncle had been, was shepherded into this path even if he tended to be wayward (2 Peter 2: 6-8).

     BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at how the writer of Hebrews uses the story of Abraham to show how God blesses those who follow His path...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - RECALLING LOT'S CLOSE CALL

So the letter writer changes metaphor from diet (milk and meat) to agriculture (the cultivation of crops and the burning of thorns and thistles in curséd ground deemed fit for fire because it has proved unproductive), to encourage the view that Christ's Kingly Priesthood calls forth "the crops" of maturity. We need to "work the ground" which means that this is a matter of wise stewardship of everyday living with the expectation that God is busy fulfilling His purposes - also "today". These are people who are sometimes called upon to exercise a circumspect commitment, holding fast to their hope, just like Christ Jesus (5: 4), and just like Abram.

     This complex passage, which we have divided into parts, hangs together in terms of an explanation that is given a few sentences later: "For in giving His guarantee to Abraham, God swore by Himself, because there was no one greater that He could swear by" (6: 13).

     Keep that in mind as we note here that the writer is referring to the account of how Abram, because he was Lot's uncle, came to have dealings with the King of Sodom (Genesis 12-15). Abram had given Lot first choice of lands when the time came for their clans to separate, so they could then be independently settled.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE takes an indepth look on a "complicated" passage in Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - GOING ON TO FULL MATURITY

When the writer begins to discuss the Kingly-Priesthood of Jesus, according to the arrangement seen in the ministry of Melchizedek to Abraham (briefly mentioned in Genesis 14: 19-20 and then taken up in the royal Psalm 110: 4), he points out to his readers why such an exposition is needed. It raises matters
"which are hard to convey since your hearing has become muffled". (5: 11).

     They weren't able to hear clearly. These are believers whose knowledge of God's covenantal mercy should, by this stage, have meant that this letter was not even necessary. There is an important aspect to" by this time shouldn't you have become teachers?" (5: 12)

     This is a New Testament reiteration - at least to Jewish believers and with them all brought up on the faith - of Deuteronomy 9: 6-7: "Know then that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to occupy because of your righteousness; for you are a stubborn people. Remember, and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness; you have been rebellious against the Lord from the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place."

     BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at how the writer of Hebrews urges his readers on to "full maturity"...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - PRIESTLY OFFICE; COMPASSIONATE LETTER

The writer continues to explain the priestly ministry that Christ Jesus has assumed for those who believe in Him. He is not only their Messiah and the Ruler of the Princes of the Earth. It is from God's Right Hand that He now meets their need for a Priest. He is not only their intercessor, as He prays for them to their Heavenly Father but, as the One who confirms and maintains their human office, He reassures them that they are indeed recipients of God's mercy and grace. He shares in their bodily (SARKOS, verse seven) condition and suffering, maintaining this stand with them in perpetuity.

     Jesus taught His disciples to pray in the first person plural and, as they pray, they accept that He is indeed praying with them: "Our Father in Heaven...". This King is also their Priest (and ours), and conforms to a peculiar arrangement that can be found in the story of Abraham, long pre-dating the Aaronic priesthood which was established after the Exodus from Egypt.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at what chapter five of Hebrews tells us about the identity of Jesus - and what that means for us...  | more... |

OPEN BOOK: HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - RECAPITULATION

As we work our way through this intriguing Letter to the Hebrews, we find ourselves immersed in a communiqué of great encouragement. With greater clarity than when we set out on reading this letter, we now realise that this has been written so that Christian believers of Jewish background can understand their place in God's Kingdom.

     The one who is now confessed as the Name above every name (Philippians 2: 1-11), greater than the Angels (1-2: 3a), the Kingly merciful Son of Man (2: 3b-18), and the One who reveals and clears the way to entering God's Sabbath (3: 1-4: 13), is now also declared to be their Great High Priest, the One to whom has been given all authority on heaven and earth (Matthew 28: 18-20).

     This is also a noteworthy part of the New Testament, in that it is the only book written specifically to address a Christian-Jewish readership, but no less edifying for Gentiles on that account.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE recaps what we've learned in the first four chapters of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - ENTERING BOLDLY

We are, after all, created in God's image and since God presents Himself to us as having rested when His creation work was done, so also those who enter in their rest will image Him by enjoying the rest, the Sabbath. The promise is that "our" Sabbath will indeed be to share in God's rest. In the meantime our task is laid out for us - our lifetime of work, our labour, is to be busy "entering"; "today" is the day of the present continuous tense. Our lives are to be lived boldly, knowing that God's rest is our destination. Jesus Christ promises to bring us into God's rest. We can rely on that (John 14).

     Just as the Lord God has entered into His rest (4: 4), and Jesus Christ has gone on to take His place on our behalf within that rest (4: 14), so the Lord's people, as His restored image bearers, still have their work to do. As creatures of the sixth day (Genesis 1: 24-31), they walk by faith until God's re-working in them is complete, when, at God's command they shall cease from all their labours, as He has from His. We hear the admonition "Let us set ourselves to enter that rest." (4: 11).

     BRUCE C. WEARNE on what it means to enter boldly...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - REST; PRESENT CONTINUOUS; 'TODAY'

So how did, or how is, anyone to enter God's rest? If Moses and Aaron, along with their generation, failed to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief and an inherent disobedient disposition, how can anyone expect to enter God's rest? Would not the same observation be made about ourselves? Are the people of God immune from personal failure? Can they avoid that distrust that provokes the Lord to say, "As if they could ever enter into my rest! ?"

     These seem to be the logical questions that arise when we hear what this letter presents to us. The inability of the Project Exodus generation to undertake the next step - after all wasn't Operation Entry the purpose of the Exodus? - is explained in terms of David's interpretation in Psalm 95.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE continues an examination of chapter four of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - PRONE TO PRESUMPTION

Let us reiterate the point of the letter. These are believers in Christ who have been living, as their ancestors did, under the Mosaic covenant. The writer tells them that with the coming of the Messiah that covenant is to be viewed as the old house, the house of Israel, the embodiment of the principles that prepared for, and have now been utterly confirmed by, the Person for whom the house was historically constructed. As a matter of course, the servant Moses simply gives way to the Son of God.   

     Here we are referred to Psalm 95. Here, as with the reference to Psalm 8 (2: 6-8), it is as if we are reading a compilation of a series of studies or sermons with a suggested Psalm that we would therefore sing with renewed understanding in relation to each exposition. Psalm 95 is a call to worship but it contains a very stark warning about the problematic way in which we tend to approach the Almighty with our songs of praise. Our life of praise, in which we confidently claim to be in the presence of the Lord, is often prone to presumption.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at the letter to the Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - WHOSE HOUSE WE ARE

Those to whom this letter was initially written have every reason to be proud of the household of which they are full members. They can wear this membership, this partnership, with great confidence. They are members of the same family; their holy membership in the household of the Almighty, prefigured by Moses' law, is confirmed for all time. They are honoured stakeholders. They will indeed "dwell all (their) days in the house of the Lord (Psalm 23: 6).

     The Son, who owns the house itself, now endorses and puts what has gone before in its place (Matthew 5: 17-20).

     Moses the servant, made sure that all things were in readiness for the coming of the house's Owner, the house's Builder. This reference to Moses may also be an allusion to the office held by Joseph, Egypt's Chief Executive Officer, second only to Pharaoh. In time, Moses had to move on from there when he realised that that ministry of mercy was not within his remit. He was called to be servant in another house, a house yet to be built.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at chapter three of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - OUR HIGH PRIEST; OUR FLESH AND BLOOD

In His complete solidarity with us, Christ Jesus took on our flesh and blood, and now as Our King He blesses us as our High Priest. (This is the theme which shall occupy the letter writer from here on.) This reiterates the earlier theme the writer had developed from the outset of his letter. He began "where they were at" in their Christian profession, confirming their human respect for all of God's messengers, including angels.

     But that respect is now redirected away from the messengers to the Person who, in these latter days, has come as the One who Was, Is and Always will be God's Message of mercy (12 :2, 13: 8). By His Coming we are told not simply that the Son binds Himself to our human condition, but that in so doing we are bound to, and share with, Him in the deepest way possible. He binds us to Himself as the Shepherd of Israel binds Himself to His sheep: "My sheep hear my voice and because I know them they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10: 27-28).

     BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at what the writer of Hebrews says about Jesus' death and its ramifications for those who follow Him...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - WE SEE JESUS' DEATH AND SUFFERING

This part of the letter might seem a little vague, until it is pointed out to us that here we have a poignant reminder of Jesus' suffering. On Calvary's cross, and in that suffering, the Lord Himself was praying in the words of Psalm 22 which begins with those well-known words: "My God, My God, why have you left me in the lurch?"

     That is the opening line of a psalm which recounts David's personal confrontation with unimaginable terror. We know this now, despite the fact that some of the people attending His agony were confused by Jesus' final cry. This now is to be understood as the cry of the Davidic King, not a cry in re-enactment of the bereft prophet Elisha who waited in vain for Elijah to come back and help him. And further on in Psalm 22, after all the evil has been recounted, we also read of the stupendous victory that God has granted His suffering one. And so David continues: "I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters in the midst of the congregation (where) I will the praise Thee" (verse 22).

     BRUCE C. WEARNE shows how the writer of Hebrews connects his readers directly to Jesus' death and suffering...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - WE SEE JESUS

This statement is the first half of a longer exposition about the Person and work of the Deliverer. Before the letter-writer moves on to even further explanation, he tells the letter's recipients, and "us" as we hang on his every word, how the fulfillment of God's purposes in the Son of God has come about. This has immediate consequences, and in fact confronts us with a significantly altered view of ourselves, just as the first readers, and meanwhile the discussion moves on from angels.  

     In so doing, the writer of the letter is challenging the taken-for-granted understanding (cosmology) of his readers which they (and we) may have based upon a particular rendering of Psalm 8. The writer is not only provoking them (and us) to rethink their view of angels. The coming of God's Son has burst upon them as the dawn (1: 3) and they are enjoined to rethink their place in the Lord Almighty's scheme of things!

     Because the contents of this letter here challenges the initial readers to reconsider their view of themselves in their contemporary "age" (refer 1: 2 TOUS AIOONAS), it sets them apart from ourselves to some extent. But that is still a challenge to us in our own time,

     BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his look at chapter two of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - GOING WITH THE FLOW?

In the first chapter we read an opening declaration (verses 1 to 4), followed by an appeal to the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures (versus 5 to 14). We take note that our writer actually approaches his subject differently from what is presented in this "commentary". Here we give the Scriptural reference first and then provide an explanation or elaboration. By contrast, the writer begins with a short declaration of the message "in a nutshell", and then he proceeds to expand upon it by referring to the Scriptural teaching. In verses five to 14 we read how the Scriptures give prominence to the Son of God over against the Almighty's angel-messengers. This Person who has spoken to us in these latter days is no Angel. Rather, He is One of utmost importance among His fellows (1: 9). The place for His enemies is also identified "under His feet" (1: 13).

     So, says the writer of the letter, those who are now fellows of the Lord's Anointed should indeed take note of the message the angels have delivered: "you are heirs to a deliverance" (1: 14) that has always been central to the message conveyed by God's messengers. It was spoken unto your ancestors by the prophets, and carried by them as wind and fire (1: 7). In serving you with the message they confirm you as "heirs of a great deliverance" (1: 14).

     BRUCE C. WEARNE examines the first few chapters of chapter two of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - IN WHOM EVERYTHING NOW MAKES SENSE

This "much better than the angels" (1: 4), as well as the "inheritance which is of greater splendour than that of the angels" (1: 7), has everything to do with the way in which Jesus, obedient to His Father's command, assumed that demoted rank, that human "lower than the angels" which the Psalmist had long ago opined when considering the Majesty of God in the skies (Psalm 8). This rule has always been and is still extended throughout all the creation. This teaching is all about God becoming One with those he delivers by a gracious favour of His own choice, because the Son came and "tasted death on behalf of all" (see 2: 7).

     Angels, the Bible teaches, are therefore subordinate to this deliverance; that is how they have a part in the story of the persistent faithfulness that issues from God's throne. This faithfulness and mercy puts us in our place, a place now been restored by the Deliverer. It is a faithfulness which is forever reliable.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE explores the first chapter of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - NOT OUR ANGEL

The writer puts pen to paper inspired by Someone, he says, who is more significant than all the angels, more important that all of God's holy battalions. Seemingly, he is writing to people for whom angels and their messages were very important parts of their story of God's dealings with them and all people.

     That seems to be why the writer is keen to tell them that this Person's bequest actually includes all the angels. It is God who is their creator, ascribing to them their characteristics - wind and fire - and sends them on their way under His orders with His message. His Name, the Name by which He is to be known from now on, is thus of greatest splendour, beyond comparing with the derived glory of His messengers.

     It seems strange to us that the writer, having announced the Son of God, proclaiming the news of His glorious inheritance in such definitive terms, should now move on to compare Him to angels at such length. Why does the writer have to do so and affirm so strongly that He is more excellent with a better name than these angels?

     BRUCE C. WEARNE continues his in-depth look at the first chapter of Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - THE GENUINE ARTICLE

The writer assumes that this is a message of great power. As we read we realise that ever since it was first announced, this message has provoked listeners to "pass it on". They too have heard what God Himself has said to them "in these latter days".

     Previously, it was specially designated prophets and messengers who delivered God's message. They did so in a variety of genres, in different historic episodes. Now, God's decisive speaking has taken a new turn. In these "latter days", His Son, the Person who has always been the focus of God's complete creational purpose, has come. He has come "to us" and He is God's personal address to "us". That is how we come to know our place in His plan. This too was part of God's purpose.

      So, what is the writer assuming here? What does the writer of this letter assume his readers know already? Someone who didn't know much about Jesus' life, having picked up the New Testament to do some casual investigation, and who randomly opened it to this page, might read this as an intense poem, a hymn or song in praise for what God has done.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE examines the statement made in verse three of chapter one...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - "THE LOT" AND THESE LATTER DAYS

The opening lines of this letter provide an answer to a question that historical and literary studies can never provide: What time is it? Whenever we read this letter now, we are not only made aware of the meaning of the "latter days" in which we now live - we are told that this time and all times, what I have translated as "the lot" - belong to the Son. And so, because of Him, we know where "we", still in these "latter days", are headed.

"The lot" (TOUS AIOONAS) includes what has been brought about in the past when God spoke to "the ancestors", and what has now been presented to "us" by the coming of God's Son. But there is more. It also includes what comes next. The "whole lot" - everything, forever - makes sense because God, who spoke in the past has now spoken to "us" by the Son, who is the heir to absolutely everything - past, present and future.

     BRUCE C. WEARNE looks at the first couple of verses of the Letter to the Hebrews...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - OVERVIEW TO THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS, PART II

Hebrews 1: 1-4

What God has done

In various episodes, and with various genres, from times long since past, God, having spoken by the prophets to our fathers, has in these latter days spoken to us in a Son.

Who God has designated heir

Whom He has designated to be heir of all, for it was by this One that He indeed made the lot, epochs past, the current epoch and epochs to come.

With what standing

Who, being the dawning of His true (and hallowed) status and the true, spitting image of Himself, while openly carrying (forward) all things, by the public declaration of His power, after having performed the Priestly duty which included the cleansing of our sins, He has now assumed His place (office) at the right hand of the Almighty, (truly and well) named as the One who oversees everything.

But what now?

Now that the Messiah of Israel has come - completed the work He had to do - according to a long preparation and a greatly anticipated hope - how are we now to see ourselves?

     BRUCE WEARNE continues his overview of the Letter to the Hebrews in the second of a two part series opener...  | more... |

HINDSIGHT FOR THESE LATTER DAYS - OVERVIEW TO THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS

So, how should we read the book known to us as The Letter to the Hebrews? What questions should guide us as we listen to this letter? How should we understand the writer's intention as we work our way through this ancient book? And further, how does it speak to us today in ways that truly benefit us?

     Let me explain, firstly, how I came to compose the discussion you will read in the pages that follow. This account continues a project I have been working on over the past decade. That has included writingabout Mark's account of Jesus, a look at the Holy Spirit's work in Acts, a study of the confirmed hope of John's Gospel, and a study of the harmony for all believers brought about by the good news of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by Paul in Galatians. Overall, the project is one of writing down in clear English the good news which the books of the Bible, the New Testament, are bringing us.

     It is with the discussion of the harmony that was established between Paul and Peter, and documented in both Acts and Galatians, that an important question is raised. Paul has written his letter to refute the presumption that the Judaean churches had priority among all Christians, and churches, at all times and in all places.

     BRUCE WEARNE kicks off a new series looking at the book of Hebrews...  | more... |

OPEN BOOK SPECIAL - THE BOOK OF GALATIANS

ONCE MORE WITH EMPHASIS

Paul concludes his letter. He has written all that he wanted to say. He has issued a stern rebuke. He has also laid done a practical agenda for pastoral concern among the community of believers. It is as if he concludes by giving a final summary which gains in emphasis because he has put it in bold and italics and then underlined it. Here, as he has emphasised elsewhere, the cross of Christ is a stumbling-block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, "but to those who believe, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (I Corinthians 1: 23-24).

     This is the point from which Paul wants his personal identity to be located. The Lord Almighty had provided him with the way by which his life could find fulfilment - the only way. And that is way in which God's promises come to fulfilment in the cross of Jesus Christ. God in His Son has taken upon Himself the curse and indignity of human sin - "and with His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53: 5).

    BRUCE C. WEARNE completes his series on Galatians with an examination of Paul's final words...  | more... |

FOR THE COMPLETE SERIES ON GALATIANS, CLICK HERE...

OPEN BOOK SPECIAL - THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE THIRD MEETING BY LAKE GALILEE

What is one to do after a person you confessed to be the Messiah, rises from the grave? What guidance is there to help us know what to think and to do in such circumstances? And how does a person deal with a resurrection if, at the point of the Messiah's arrest, before His execution, one has deserted Him? And what if one denies even knowing Him, after one has earlier stated a willingness to lay down one's life in His service? What if the opportunity came to die for the Messiah and one squibbed it, denying that one ever knew the person?

     Put like that, such a scenario sounds abstract and theoretical, until one realises that that is precisely what the final chapter of John's Gospel is all about. The disciples of Jesus had witnessed their Rabbi's arrest. They had heard about the nails and the spear thrust into the side of the dead body. They had learned that the body had been laid nearby in a fresh grave. They would have already been traumatised by the events of the last weeks. But now? How does one deal with a resurrected Son of God, as well as all that. To top it off He comes and calls you His brother, His sister, His friend, when all you have done is to let Him down? And so, the apostle addresses the way in which the Risen Lord dealt with His disciples and these two men - Peter and John - in particular. They were to become leaders of the early church, and they knew just how feeble their allegiance had been.

    In the final of his comprehensive series looking at the Gospel of John, BRUCE C. WEARNE examines an encounter between Jesus and Peter after the resurrection...  | more... |

FOR THE COMPLETE SERIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, CLICK HERE...

MORE FROM OPEN BOOK

THE ULTIMATE POWER GRAB

The story in this Gospel reading is about the ultimate power grab. James and John come up to Jesus and ask him to do for them whatever they want. That's a pretty audacious request.

     If you are a parent, what would you do if your little boy or girl came up to you and said “Mummy, Daddy, I want you to do whatever I want?” you would probably laugh, and you would probably see it as a little arrogant. We might think the same of the disciples. Who did they think they were?

     To get some sort of context about why James and John would have made such an outrageous request, we need to go back 2,000 years to understand the times they found themselves in.

    NILS VON KALM takes a look at Mark 10: 35-45 and what it tells us about Jesus' "counter-cultural approach"... | more... |

FREE TO LOVE!, PART II

The first Christians realised that they didn't have to spend their lives trying to get acceptance from God. They didn't have to do that anymore. They were free, free to serve and love without wondering if what they were doing was good enough. They realised that in Jesus there was something much better and it wasn't about trying to be better, it was about following a way that was better.

     The great story of Odysseus in Greek mythology shows this beautifully. Odysseus and his friends need to get somewhere in their boat, but they need to go past this island which no one has ever got past before. The reason that everyone has floundered on this island is because of the beautiful seductive voices of the sirens on this island. When they would sing no man could resist and they would turn their ship toward the island and be wrecked on the rocks.

     NILS VON KALM concludes his article looking at what love really means... | more... |

PART I

As I read these passages over and over, there is a consistent theme coming through, a theme of acceptance, and repentance, in that order. And not just that - what also shines through is that it is all because of Jesus. It all centres around Him. Who He is and what He has done is completely new - that is, love us first, without requiring us to do anything to earn that love. 

     In the first part of a two part article, NILS VON KALM examines what the love of God means for us... | more... |

WORKS WITHOUT FAITH ARE DEAD

One of the things that I need to constantly remind myself of, and which the church in general can fall into the trap of, is doing works of justice and forgetting why we do them. Why is it that we do what we do? What motivates us? How is this work that we as Christians do any different from any good works that anyone else does? Is it different?

     The work that we do is not just a humanitarian response to the crisis of world poverty. It is a response to the love of God within us. In the church I grew up in, everyone knew the words of John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life". But a passage I never knew was 1 John 3:16-17 - "We know love by this, that He laid down his life for us -  and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?"

     NILS VON KALM takes a look at what motivates a Christian to help others... | more... |

THE BIBLE AND THE EMPIRE OF MONEY

In this chapter of Luke we find the remarkable parable of Jesus about the unjust oikonomos or steward (verses 1- 8). But, as a kind of attachment to his story, Jesus also makes some important connected remarks about the role and significance of money. In His words something rather like a central view or perspective on the 'monetary aspect' of human society comes to the fore. But, before we explore that, let us look as carefully as possible at Jesus' separate statements. No less than six individual 'components' of his view can be distinguished.

     1. Money can fail. See verse 9: “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations” (KJV). This text forms the conclusion of the parable which had just been told by Jesus, a parable that tells of a 'wasting' or 'squandering' steward who gets asked by his master to produce his fraudulent accounts.

     BOB GOUDZWAARD takes a look at what Luke 16: 9-15 says about money... | more... |

BOUND FOR GLORY - VIA THE CROSS

Before and after this event, the question comes up about who the Messiah really is. In the chapter before this one, when Jesus tells the disciples that He must suffer and die, Peter pulls Him aside and tries to set Him right. Jesus then has to correct Peter, telling 'Satan' to get behind Him. What the disciples don't understand is that the way of Jesus is not the way of the world. The glory that Jesus was on about was completely opposite to what the disciples had in mind. In the disciples' mind, the Messiah was going to come and reign over Israel and take out the oppressive Roman occupation once and for all. And in Jesus they thought they had found their man. So when Jesus starts talking about suffering and being killed, no wonder Peter pulls Him aside. It's a scandal. It goes completely against his view of the world.

     Athol Gill, in his book A Life On The Road, says this about this passage: “The sacrifice of which Jesus speaks…is self-denying discipleship for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel…the church has often lost its glory because it has pointed people to Peter's way rather than to Jesus' way. It has sought to offer Jesus, and the way of power and glory, at the same time. But it is through weakness that strength is to be found. It is through the renunciation of power and glory that power and glory will come to the church. Those who follow Jesus must do so by way of the cross.”

     NILS VON KALM takes a look at what Mark 9: 2-9 says about the transfiguration and what it means for Christians today... | more... |

SHEEP, GOATS AND THANKFULNESS - A SURPRISING COMBINATION?

The passage in Paul's letter to the Ephesians has enormous relevance for us in 21st century western culture. This letter was written to a church which was in a very religious culture, pretty much like what we have today in a lot of ways.

     It's just that we generally worship different things these days. We worship money, we worship ourselves and we worship material goods. It has been said that you become what you worship. If you worship God you will become more Godly and more Christlike, and if you worship money you will inevitably become more greedy. Ephesus was one of the major cities of the Roman Empire in Paul's day and what he says in his letter is very encouraging to them in helping them deal with the troubles they are going through.

     NILS VON KALM takes a look at two passages in Ephesians and Matthew and their relevance to us today... | more... |

TRUST - WITHOUT JESUS WE'RE SUNK

This is a story about trust and about keeping our focus on Jesus when the storms of life abound.

     This story also appears in Mark’s Gospel, but Mark’s version doesn't have Peter walking out to Jesus on the water. So why has Matthew added it? Because Matthew is writing to a community who needs to hear that Jesus can be relied upon even when our faith wavers. If you look at the sequence of stories in Matthew and Mark, they all, in order, describe the death of John the Baptist, the feeding of the 5,000, and then Jesus walking on the water.

     Matthew’s version seems to be about trust and reassurance for a battered community. What is shown in Matthew’s story here is Jesus’ ability to save. Perhaps they were already beginning to see that Jesus was someone safe to be around, that he could provide for their needs. They had just seen him feed the 5,000 with five loaves and a few fish, and now they see him rescue Peter after his faith wavers.

    NILS VON KALM takes a look at what Matthew 14 teaches us about trust... | more... |

THE EMMAUS ROAD - FROM BROKEN DREAMS TO RESTORED REALITY

This passage starts off with two people walking along a road, probably some hours after reports had started circulating among the disciples that Jesus had been seen. Historians tell us that it is most likely that the two people were a couple. We know one of their names, Cleopas, and the other one was probably his wife, Mary. To understand this passage we need to put ourselves in their shoes; we need to imagine where they were at in their mental and emotional state. And to do that we need to go back to look at the mindset of a 1st century Jew.

     You see, as the two were walking along the road, they were in a state of complete disillusionment. Firstly, they had been completely perplexed by the fact that Jesus had died. The Messiah was not supposed to die, and I will discuss that in more detail below. On top of that, some women in their group said they went to his tomb that morning and found it empty and had seen angels who said he was risen. And then, this stranger comes up to them and starts talking like he’s just come down in the last shower, with seemingly no idea of what has been happening over the last few days.

    NILS VON KALM takes an indepth look at Luke 24: 13-35... | more... |

PAUL'S CORINTHIAN 'CHAUVINISM'

In this series I’ve tried to bring some clarity to our encounters with one of Scripture’s most puzzling passages: 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. But for fear of getting lost in my reading, I think we should turn to the text itself.

     To move us in that direction, I want to offer some final comments on the verses I’ve glossed over.

     Verse 3. The phrase, “God is the head of Christ” (NRSV) makes it impossible for me to tell what exactly Paul means here. After all, God and Christ, in Trinitarian theology, are one and the same. And yet this is supposed to be an example of the “head of” relationship which also holds between husband and wife, between Christ and humanity?

    MICAH TILLMAN's final installment in his series looking at the first 16 verses of 1 Corinthians 11... | more... |

FOR PREVIOUS:

MICAH TILLMAN continues his series looking at the first 16 verses of 1 Corinthians 11 in this, the third instalment... | more... |

In the second of his four part series, MICAH TILLMAN writes about how Paul's words on women wearing veils were actually about starting a social revolution with Christ at the centre of it... | more... |

In the first of a four part series, MICAH TILLMAN takes a deeper look at the first 16 verses of 1 Corinithians 11... | more... |

SUBMISSION

It’s interesting that Paul opens this sentence to Titus with “remind”. How did he know that we would constantly need reminding to be submitted to our rulers and authorities?

     One of the themes that follow through the ministry of Jesus is that in all circumstances and in all ways, He obeyed the law. Jesus spoke out about obeying the law of the land which involved things such as paying taxes. As Christians today the message hasn’t changed. We need to be subject to our authorities, obedient and ready to do good.

     While in a church environment this may be easier than in the world, Paul does not differentiate between non- Christian and Christian rulers. I think we often read this verse and read what we want to see and that is to be subject to good Christian rules and authorities. What this verse really tells us is that we are to respect and obey all those who are set in authority over us, because God has placed them in those positions whether they know that or not.

     CHRISSI ELLANKOON on a Biblical look at submission... | more... |

YOU TOO WILL BE WATERED

'Don’t do something because you expect something in return!' Have you ever heard that phrase? I know so many times when I take on that extra task or go out of my way for someone, that phrase replays in my head. We are all taught from a very young age to do whatever we do from the goodness of our heart and are discouraged for seeking something in return.

     This spirit of doing something for no return is evident in any volunteer. They know that there is no monetary reward behind what they do. Most of the time volunteers will tell you that they do what they do because they care and because in some way it gives them a sense of satisfaction.

     CHRISSI ELLANKOON takes look at the meaning behind Proverbs 11:25... | more... |

KNOW THE CONDITION OF YOUR HEART

Words are a complex tool. They are used to communicate truth, find directions and build relationships. They are also used to bless or curse people. All in all words are powerful. Jesus tells us what we bind on earth in bound in heaven and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. That binding is done by the power of the spoken Word.

     With all the power that words have, there is one function that they lack, retraction. Once spoken, you can never take those words back, it doesn’t matter how hard you try. Although you may be sorry and try to make amends, the fact remains that once the words are spoken you cannot take them back.

     I am sure like me you have found yourself in situations where you have said something and then, the minute it has left your mouth, you wish you never said it.

     CHRISSI ELLANKOON examines what Jesus has to say about our words revealing our heart... | more... |

THE LOCAL WELL

Wells in the time of the Bible were essential to the survival of the community. The life of a town centred around the well as a source of water; it meant health and prosperity for the townspeople.

     When new people arrived in town, one of the first things they would need to do is find the local well. It was a gathering place and an equaliser - everyone needed water and therefore rich and poor alike depended on the well. The well was not the source of the water but merely a collection point, one of many for the people in the local area.

     There are many similarities between the well and the local church. While the church does not contain our God, (for nothing can contain God), it is a place within the local community where people know they can come to meet with God. They come to the church to meet the One who can give eternal life and everlasting water.

     CHRISSI ELLANKOON takes a look at the story of Jesus and the woman at the well... | more... |

FAITH IS A CHOICE

So how many promises has God made you? Have all of them been fulfilled? Or like me are you still waiting to see some of them out worked in your life. God asks us to have faith, faith like a mustard seed, and while it may be small, it is full of potential.

      The Gospel of Mark starts with an incredible story of faith. There are some many valuable lessons to be learnt here, but the one I want to focus on is the lesson that faith is a choice. Mary was a young girl who was still a virgin. The Bible doesn’t say that there was anything remarkable about her. She was not a great beauty, nor was she from a noble family; she was just an ordinary person like you and me. However this young girl was going to be the mother of the Messiah. It was going to be her responsibility to raise the Son of God. Just think about that for a moment. The child she was to nurse was going to bring salvation to the earth. What kind of faith would that take?

     CHRISSI ELLANKOON takes a look at what Mary can teach us about faith... | more... |

BEING CONTENT TO BEAR FRUIT

One characteristic that most of us humans have in common is the need for recognition and status. You may not think that you really care, and on the surface you probably don’t. However, if you teach you want to be called teacher and, if you heal, you want to be called doctor.

      The truth is, if you perform the function, then you want to be given the title. This in itself is not bad when it is in balance, however most people at some point crave and desire the title more than the function.

      In Judges chapter nine, Jotham tells a parable to the people of Sheecham to instruct them on choosing a leader and king over the people.

      There is so much in this parable that is important for our day to day lives. It highlights the importance of valuing our gift and function far above the need for title and position. The olive tree, fig tree and the grape vine understood the importance of the function that they had. The olive tree, for example, knew that the fruit it bore was pleasing to not only man, but God and therefore was reluctant to give up this function in order to become a king over the trees.

     In the second of a new column looking at passages and verses from the Bible and what they mean to us today, CHRISSI ELLANKOON takes a look at the parable of the three trees in Judges, chapter nine... | more... |

WASTE OR WORSHIP?

As the woman made her way to Simon’s house I often wonder what was going through her mind. Did she plan what she was going to do? Was it all rehearsed?

      Scripture doesn’t tell us too many details about whether she had planned this event or not, however we do know that she didn’t belong there, she wasn’t an invited guest. While this Scripture does not name her, we know that she was a determined and focused lady.

      With one hand clasped around that cold creamy alabaster jar she must have purposed each step; she was focused on reaching Simon’s house because she had heard that the Teacher would be there. She knew Jesus would be there. What was she going to say? How would she address Him and greet Him?

     CHRISSI ELLANKOON takes a look at Mark 14:3-9 - the anointing of Jesus at Bethany... | more... |