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HUMILITY
Mary anointing Jesus' feet; Peter broken at his thrice denial of being a disciple of Jesus; and, Peter, James and John somewhat agog on Mt Transfiguration. These are some of the positions of humility we can find ourselves in when we walk with Jesus.

     In each of these situations, and more, humility comes through as a position of strength because it is centred in trust in God. It is strength and not weakness because it draws confidence from knowing God and knowing ourselves in relation to God.

     In some people’s minds humility embraces church mouse mildness and allowing yourself to just be used. That is a misconception.

     Humility is about making clear decisions to serve, even as Jesus came to serve and not be served.

     LLOYD HARKNESS humbly submits some thoughts on, well, humility... | more... |

THE CHURCH AS EKKLESIA

Welcome to ekklesia. Welcome to church. You are now a part of the ‘called out’. Having the same point of origin, dead in sin, you are now in the exceedingly better situation of the born again.

     Welcome to the community of believers, to the band of Christians local, worldwide and in heaven. Welcome.

     No-one hailed me in this way when I became a Christian but I have more than an inkling this was heaven’s resound.

     That born again moment not only tied me to Christ with its resultant cross-carrying and following but it also connected me to others who had also bowed their knee to Jesus.

     I was a part of The One: one family, one body, one flock, one temple, and one vine.

     I was a part of The One With Many: many relatives, many biological entities, many sheep, many stones, and many branches.

     LLOYD HARKNESS writes about what it means to belong to the 'Body of Christ'... | more... |

HOPE

     What hope is.

     What hope is not.

     What hope is.

     What hope is not.

     I decided to go for the piebald effect with this word piece and trust that in doing so it will illuminate a sharper portrait.

     Firstly, hope is energy astir guided by a perceived, or more accurately received, reality which will materialise.

     Hope is not anchored by possibility. That would be too open to wavering. It’s anchor is a more limpet like certainty which is fixed to The Rock, Christ our foundation, our salvation.

     Foundational to a Christian’s received reality is seeing God active in creation, unfolding a salvation plan both intimate and intrinsically good, as is He.

     This revelation has the capacity to carry a Christian beyond the immediate and short term, a characteristic essential in the seasons of life when there is a valley cast in shadow to be traversed.

     LLOYD HARKNESS on what hope is...and isn't... | more... |

PATIENCE

Patience is a virtue...or so the old cliché goes. It might not rate among the big three of faith, hope and charity but...it is a virtue.

     I wonder if it still carries the same potency, the same status, in a generation hooked on the instant?

     When we can so readily get annoyed if things don’t have a rapid response, if things can’t be dealt with immediately or if there is not an instant reply, do we see value in things that stretch our patience?

     We need to recapture the poetry in the language connected to patience, the poetry that is patience in motion.

     Patience is not giving up, not losing heart, persevering bravely, and having a 'long spirit'. I especially like the latter image in this group.

     "You have a long spirit". What a great compliment to pay someone. It is different enough to make a person pause and consider the value that is being heralded.

      In an article that took a long time coming, LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at patience... | more... |

LEAVEN

Kneaded leaven, by character, diffuses itself throughout the dough and remains hidden until its work is done. Once it has penetrated, you can sit back and wait for a transformation silently, secretly secured.

     The fermentation process involved in leavening has literary allusions to disintegration and decay. Hence it often symbolises corruption, uncleanness, malice, wickedness, tainted doctrine and such.

     And only a little, a wee bit, a dram, a dollop is required. So states the laws of culinary presentiment. And Jesus.
      One sinner, one dose of legalism, one malicious act, or one distorted miscast portrait of Christ can leaven itself through a whole community.
      On at least one occasion, though, Jesus aligned leaven with wholesomeness and life. He said the Gospel is working silently within, transforming lives and communities, being the energising force of God’s kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven. The Gospel, as leaven, creating a scrumptious bread, which is the staff of life, breaks the mould (sorry about the pun) of standard references to leaven.

      LLOYD HARKNESS examines the Biblical meaning of leaven... | more... |

HATE

Hate! Hate?

     What an unusual choice of words.

     Theology, the Bible, can hardly lay claim to ownership of hate.

     But the word certainly has its place in any Christian approach to life, to others, to God.

     So there must be more to hate or hating other that arriving at the point where you are fuming and that bubbling emotion has been festering for some time.

     There is more to hate than recognising that if you are seeing someone as "the disease upon the puss upon the dirt upon the scum upon the backside of a maggot eating its way through the rotting flesh of a road kill" then you are not in a healthy place.

     And if all that gushing ill will is vented upon someone... well...

     Maybe Christians need some new material on the topic - ‘The five languages of hate’... and such.

     Yes, I am being frivolous but, hey, if I am going to talk about hate then the least I could do is write a light-hearted introduction.

     Hate needs to be better understood. Thinking of hate as just the opposite of love will only take us so far in dealing with it.

      LLOYD HARKNESS takes a deeper look at what hate is all about... | more... |

THE LAMB

Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. His power and His authority rest in His character, His divinity and His humanity.

     Yet there is another title which qualifies and establishes his authority and power which at first appearance may seem contradictory.

     Jesus is The Lamb of God.

     He is The Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. The reality and nature of His life sacrificed for our restoration to God the Father bespeaks a level of miraculous power and love which is hard to comprehend.

     Jesus is the fulfilment of the Passover.

And beyond this even is the fact that it is The Lamb who is the consummate image and abiding portrayal of Jesus in The Revelation. The Lamb is the one who is there at the end of what currently is and the beginning of what will be. It is The Lamb who has the power, authority, honour and dignity to wrap up what is and reveal what will be.

      LLOYD HARKNESS reflects on The Lamb... | more... |

THE WORD THAT IS A FLASHPOINT

I am going to do it. No. Yes. Yes! Here it comes. Hang the consequences. Stuff the turn-off factor. Damn the quick to judge. Well, you know what I mean. And sorry to those who have been wounded in this area…but I do hope this will be healing balm.

     Money! There. I said it. I could not quite bring myself to saying it in the opening paragraph but here I am going to say it again...Money!
      It is a subject we are all a little bit touchy about in varying ways and for various reasons but this Word piece is on legalism and money. So I hope you are ready to read on.
      Money, the getting of it and the redistributing of it...Ah, there lies the nub of a delicate matter.

      LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at, well, an unmentionable... | more... |

GRACE

Living in a society, which in recent times has been more willing to talk about forgiveness and the need to ‘say sorry’, particularly in respect to some of our indigenous Australian history, gives cause to reflect on the bigger concept of grace.

     God’s grace, in our life, has always had the capacity to radically reshape us through salvation and the outworking of that experience over the remainder of our days on this green and blue globe.
     Equally, God’s grace in our hands has been distorted and rendered impotent when used as an escape clause for pursuing our ‘fallen’ interests or agenda. The New Testament church had problems in this area when people took licence in matters ranging from sex to money to misuse of the communal Lord’s Supper.

      LLOYD HARKNESS examines what 'grace' really means... | more... |

(GOD IS) ONE

“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

     Being born A.D. we tend to read a verse such as this, in the Old Testament, with the knowledge Jesus brought to the Trinity. We read ‘the Lord is One’ and part of what we compute is God is three-in-one yet indivisible. To do so is fine but it can cause us to miss the revelation of One, a revelation which enmeshed Israel to God. So this time around we will focus on God the One.
      God is one. He is Alpha. He is the beginning.
      As one, God is first and foremost. As one, God is primary in all things. As one, God is independent of all others and the origin of all. As one, God is indivisible and whole; devoid of inner conflict, doubt, hesitation or recrimination.

      LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at why it's important to understand that God is One... | more... |

OF JUDGING AND BEING JUDGEMENTAL

Somewhere in the mishmash of modern political correctness and the gospel of acceptance and tolerance the line between making sound judgements and being judgemental has been blurred.

     This is not new. Jesus had quite a bit to say on this topic in combating misunderstandings in his day. Thankfully, his example and teaching make clarifying the difference between judging and being judgemental much simpler.
      Jesus butted heads against a form of religious correctness rather than political correctness. This doctrinaire said life is about fulfilling religious obligations through observing a series of expanding interpretations of laws. Instead of allowing people to draw near to God it squeezed the love of God out of people’s lives. The religious correctness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law was infused with a self-righteousness on matters ranging from foods to eat or not, circumcision, Sabbath observances and even the tricky problem of tithing mint, herbs and other condiments.

      LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at how Jesus differentiates between making a sound judgement and being judgemental... | more... |

ELDER

There is something very tribal about the office of elders. The concept, the role is immersed in tribal relationships. Before you become an elder you must first be tribal.

     An elder has a connectedness with the people, his people. An elder is of the people, of the tribe. Before you become an elder you have to be born into the tribe and grow and live and breathe the fortunes and fates of the tribe and the decisions your elders make.
      Elders are ‘centred’ in the tribe. The tribe is who they are. By the time someone becomes an elder, age and experience have merged in their decision making so much so that what is important to the tribe takes precedence over personal wishes, family connections or any other bias. Well...that is the kind of elder you would be praying for.

      LLOYD HARKNESS examines what it means to hold the office of elder... | more... |

EASTER

Easter is Easter Sunday. We tend to think of Easter as an extended long weekend but Easter is resurrection Sunday. Even the origins of the word speak of a shining, the dawn of a new day breaking forth from the east. Resurrection day has no parallel. Jesus walking among his followers again after the horror of crucifixion has no parallel. Eternity, as revealed by Jesus in teaching and in life has no parallel.

      Bede, ‘the father of English history’, suggests the term Easter had its roots in paganism and worship of the goddess of the sunrise, Eastre. Worship was clearly redefined when pagans became Christians and the light which was darkness gave way to ‘the light of the world’. Jesus is the ‘bright morning star’, the one who is bringing many sons and daughters to glory with him.
      For us Westerners, living in the instant world, thinking of Easter as one day might be fraught with token acknowledgement. Historically, the lead-up to and the follow on from that one momentous day engrained in believers, the mind and heart expanding power of, Jesus' resurrection.

      LLOYD HARKNESS explores the meaning of Easter... | more... |

THE FEAR OF GOD

How do you love someone and fear them? How can love and fear blend in one person so that their relationship with God is healthy?
      The fear of God is an issue which addresses who we are to be and who God is. On the one hand we are to “love the Lord our God with all our heart...” but in tension with that heart response is the instruction to “fear God”.

      Should there be tension in our relationship with God? Hardly! The kind of tension I am referring to here is not the hallmark of a healthy relationship. So how can love and fear together bring us closer to God?
       Firstly, we need to establish what the fear of God is. Our initial feeling might be that fear distances a person on a relational level that it is the antithesis of intimacy and wholeness and connection. Clearly, the Bible speaks of a holy fear which draws us to God, not a fear that pushes us away from him.

      LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at what it really means to "fear" God... | more... |

OF MISSIONS AND MISSSIONARIES

When we think of missions and missionaries there is a tendency for our thoughts to turn to overseas, to great sacrifices, to Mother Teresa-types who are just one step down from sainthood. There is almost an elitist view here where this type of mission is seen as the pinnacle of serving Jesus and fulfilling His great commandment of taking the Gospel into the entire world.

     Is this all there is to missions? Hardly. Is there a problem in seeing one form of following Jesus as a statement that you have really arrived or come-of-age when you do this? Definitely.
     Let’s start with Christ’s mission. His mission was to reveal God’s love and the cornerstone of that revelation was to pay the penalty for our sins so as to make it possible for us to be saved. Working in conjunction with the Father and the Holy Spirit He took this message throughout Galilee, Judea and Samaria.

      LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at what it means to be on a mission from God... | more... |

SAVIOUR

In these days of self realisation and self actualisation and self and self and self, many people seem to have lost the conviction that there are simply some things we cannot do for ourselves.
     'What do I need to be saved from' is no longer a question but a statement. Whether this is said arrogantly or mildly perplexed it does not really matter. The point is there is a mindset which has grown in society that says; “I’m alright. What are you on about?”

   A few years ago a bumper sticker that got a bit of mileage read “Jesus saves”. One bloke who I was car pooling with saw the sticker and said; “saves you from what?” For him, the need for a Saviour was a slightly bizarre and somewhat amusing concept.

     This most fundamental understanding of the Christian faith - that Jesus came to save the lost and set captives free - is being lost amidst the voices of ‘isms’. Materialism. Humanism. Relativism. And so on.

      LLOYD HARKNESS explores one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith - our need for a Saviour... | more... |

THE LEAST

The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom Jesus was ushering in through His ministry, has at its core a set of values on the use of power and authority and what is significant and who is significant that rattles the cages of much of what today's kingdoms deem effective, appropriate and useful.
       Central to this topsy-turvy understanding of God's kingdom is Jesus' comments on "the least".

     For a start, anyone and everyone who is born (via a born again experience) into God's kingdom is in a far more privileged situation then even the greatest, and last, of the old covenant prophets, John the Baptist.

     "The least," says Jesus, "the least, or the person lacking the most of everything including dignity and worth, is greater than John." (Luke 7:38. Matthew 11:11.)

      LLOYD HARKNESS takes at what it means to be 'the least' in the kingdom of God... | more... |

TEMPERATE

Temperate is one of those words which have a quaint Victorian charm to it; except perhaps when we are discussing the weather. Then we are more likely to conjure up images of balmy days which are neither too hot nor too cold.

      I say Victorian charm because it was the era of Temperance Unions and 'temperate' family portraits. Standing or sitting each family is almost universally steady-eyed, unsmiling and the essence of sobriety. Those black and white or sepia photographs project sternness, with their buttoned and tightly laced-up visages, a sternness which affirms their sober, temperate, disciplined lives.

      But both quaint history and our perceptions of the weather miss the Biblical point of what it means to be temperate.

      LLOYD HARKNESS examines how the Bible uses the word temperate... | more... |

MAGNIFY (A CHRISTMAS CONTEMPLATION)

"I will magnify the Lord,
For He is worthy to be praised."

      So goes the somewhat dated chorus whose lyrics, drawn from the Psalms, elicit a realisation that God is God and we are His creation. But the reality of magnifying God should never date despite the fact that using the word in the sense of "glorifying" is now almost archaic.

    To magnify God is to see Him through eyes whose pupils have dilated in awe. He is "enlarged" in the sense that we have begun to see Him more clearly.

      This is the experience of Mary. Her hymn of joy, traditionally titled The Magnificat, taken from the first word she utters, is a celebratory song extolling God, salvation and life. (Luke 1:46-55)

     LLOYD HARKNESS takes a close look at what it means to magnify... | more... |

MANIFEST

When something is manifest it is clear, it is uncovered, it is visible and it is laid bare for all to see. You could even say that it shines like neon and consequently is irrefutable. Thus a manifestation cannot be ignored or contradicted.

      It is with this understanding that I'd like to look at some New Testament verses which speak of something being manifest or appearing. In fact, I'd like to take a very different approach for this Sight posting and ask you to:
1. Read each verse in your Bible.
2. Read each summary statement I've posted.
3. Say, after each verse and statement: 'This is clear. This is irrefutable. This is a fact.'

      By doing this I trust it will be a threefold "Amen" to the manifest wisdom of God and that each declaration will build your faith.

     LLOYD HARKNESS takes a different approach in looking behind the meaning of "manifest"... | more... |

HUSBAND

With so many titles and portraits of God given in the Bible, it's hard to appreciate Him, and His heart for humanity, if we limit our understanding to one or two common or favourite profiles. In some way we need to merge them all into a Holy Spirit polyglot hymn of love, joy and gratitude as we respond to God.

      When we think of the heart of God the more dominant title and portrait tends to be God as our heavenly father. God the Father is fundamental to our understanding of the Trinity and probably Jesus' best known parable speaks of God the Father and how He deals with a wayward son.

      What is equally important to keep in mind when meditating on the heart of God for humanity, however, is the portrait of God as our husband.

     LLOYD HARKNESS explores the idea of God as husband... | more... |

BANNER

I have been to churches over the last decade where people have held aloft banners or flags during times of singing and worship. What is that all about? Why this very visual expression of what is clearly meant to be a God honouring act? As a banner is a rallying standard I assume the congregation is being encouraged to march, do battle, live out their lives, under these banners.

     "The 12 tribes of Israel marched and camped under their own banners. Even more significant for them was the fact Moses had given God the name Jehovah-nissi, which means 'The Lord is my Banner' ."

      So what does the Bible say about banners?

      The 12 tribes of Israel marched and camped under their own banners. Even more significant for them was the fact Moses had given God the name Jehovah-nissi, which means "The Lord is my Banner" (Exodus 17:15). This expression of the relationship between God and his people grew out of a battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites.

     LLOYD HARKNESS checks out what the Bible has to say about the use of banners... | more... |

BAPTISM

Surely, baptism is a term the majority of people are well aware of, even if they haven't experienced it, so this 'Word' piece will confine itself to the background to baptism.

      Quite simply, baptism is about cleansing, fresh starts and a new life.

      The Old Testament has two great figurative representations of baptism. The first was Noah and his family who were rescued from the flood and given a new start in a new land. The second was the Israelites passing through the Red Sea. They left behind a life of slavery to take up an abundant life God was offering them in a promised land.

      But baptism, as a personal expression of a life committed to God, takes off with John the Baptist. John didn't come up with the idea of baptism. The Jews required Gentile converts to Judaism to be baptised as part of their public identification with and commitment to Jehovah, the Lord God Almighty.

     LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at the origins of baptism... | more... |

RESURRECTION

The guessing game is over. Creative stories about crossing the River Styx, fanciful dreams of reincarnated souls, or stepping off into nothing after the biological clock has wound itself out, are all notions shredded by Jesus' resurrection.

      The evidence is in. Jesus was no illusionist - not in life, not in death, not in resurrection.

      The healings, the miracles, the confrontations with religious leaders, the teaching, the spirit of the man; drew crowds and transformed lives. The life of Jesus was no illusion.  

      The flagellation, the thorny crown, the battered and exhausted cross-carrying body, the pierced wrist and ankles, the gasping lungs, the spear thrust through his side to be certain; brought not only the centurion to the conclusion "Surely this was the Son of God". Jesus' death was no illusion.

     LLOYD HARKNESS says Jesus' resurrection is at the very heart of what it means to be a Christian... | more... |

FIRSTFRUITS

'The firstfruits' is a significant Biblical term that carries a foundational understanding of God and His desire to be actively engaged in the lives of His creation.

      It defies the concept of a God who having created the universe, like some perfect Swiss watch, now stands back with His hands in his pockets waiting for the thing to go kaput at Armageddon; when Jesus will create a new heaven and earth, a new finely-tuned digital Swiss watch.

      This term also stresses the life of faith we are called to live.

     LLOYD HARKNESS finds something to chew over when he takes a look at the word 'firstfruits'... | more... |

INTERCESSION

Books and books have been written on the topic of intercessory prayer. What I hope you get from this short exploration of the word is an image of what is transpiring when you intercede and a taste of the Spirit at work in this way.

      In intercession you are praying on behalf of someone else. It carries the idea of being in the court of a king. You have come before his throne knowing that all power is in his hands. He can grant you wealth and property or strip you of it. He can grant you a pardon for your crimes or pronounce a death sentence on you. He can adjudicate in all matters pertaining to his kingdom and as a just king he is only answerable to truth and love. As his reign is guided by these principles everyone respects and abides by his decisions.

     LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at what it really means to intercede... | more... |

 LLOYD HARKNESS delves into the meaning behind the word atonement... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS on a completely different sort of word - milk... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at the meaning of holiness... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS writes of the glory of God... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS delivers a blessing... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS on what it means to cleave...| more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS examines the meanings of Pentecost... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at what worship really means... | more... |

  LLOYD HARKNESS explores the Biblical meaning of what is means to be "like-minded"... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at the meaning of trespasses... | more... |

      ANDREW MERRY looks at the meaning behind the Greek word kairos... | more... |