Generosity

Generosity is not just a nice character trait that people have. It is right at the heart of what our faith is all about. C.S. Lewis defined Christianity as ‘a kind of giving’. God has poured out his generosity to you in Jesus (John 3:16), and you are called to respond in faith and generosity to others. The key to blessing is generosity – ‘the righteous give generously’ (Psalm 37:21).
As always, Jesus is only calling us to imitate the generosity of God: ‘Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never – I promise – regret it. Live out this God–created identity the way our father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our father is kind; you be kind’ (vv.35–36, MSG).

Generosity towards your enemies means not only to forgive them but also to bless them. You must not speak evil of them even if you think they deserve it. You are to pray for them, bless them and speak well of them. As Nelson Mandela put it, ‘Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping it will kill your enemies.’ Instead, like God, be generous to everyone 

The meek

The unassuming ‘The meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace’ (Psalm 37:11). Meek does not mean weak, spineless or feeble. It is the word used of Moses (Numbers 12:3, RSV). Jesus described himself as meek (Matthew 11:29, RSV). It means gentle, considerate and unassuming. It is the opposite of being arrogant and self-seeking. It is the word used of a horse that has been ‘broken’, that is, tamed. It means strength under control. Jesus seems to be quoting this verse when he said, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5:5).

Making decisions

It is a simple three-part process. First, to commit the decision to God in prayer, asking him to open the doors that are right for you, and to close the ones that are not right. Second, thereafter trust that he is in control. Third, watch in faith for him to act as you continue on your ‘way’, in the expectation that God will act.

Overcome giant problems

Joyce Meyer comments, ‘Sadly, we often stare at our giant-sized problems instead of at our God... I believe that more time spent worshipping and praising God would help us keep a clear focus and enable us to go forward with a strong, positive attitude, believing we can do anything God tells us to do.’

Moss was humble

‘Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth’ (12:3). Perhaps that is why God used Moses in such a powerful way. Moses was ‘humble’ (v.3), ‘faithful’ (v.7), compassionate and forgiving (v.13). All this stemmed from the very close relationship he had with God in which God spoke to him intimately in person (‘With him I speak face to face’, v.8).

Antidote to grumbling

Praise, thanksgiving and worship are the antidote to complaining and grumbling.

I praise you, God, for all your goodness to me – for the good news of Jesus, for your forgiveness, for your love for me, for the Holy Spirit and the love of God poured into my heart, for the fact that you delight in me and rescue me. Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings, for your provision, freedom, friends, family and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. ‘God is good – all the time.’

Do good

John Wesley once said, ‘Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.’

Developing Wisdom

We can learn four things about the wisdom that comes from intimacy with the Father by examining Jesus’ example in these verses. Wisdom comes from listening Wisdom is willingness to listen to and learn from others. Jesus was ‘sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions’ (Luke 2:46). Sir Isaac Newton said, ‘I find intelligence is better spotted when analysing the questions asked rather than the answers given.’ Often, those who know most speak least. When we are talking, we are usually merely repeating what we already know. When we are listening, we may learn something new. Asking good questions is the key to being a good conversationalist. It was said of President J. F. Kennedy that he made you think he had nothing else to do except ask you questions and listen, with extraordinary concentration, to your answer. You knew that, for the time being, he had blotted out both the past and the future for you. Wisdom leads to simplicity Wisdom brings clarity. Jesus knew where he should be and what he should do. He declared, ‘Didn't you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’ (v.49). Knowledge leads us from the simple to the complex; wisdom leads us from the complex to the simple. Wisdom is holistic Wisdom is shown not only in what we say, but also in how we live: ‘Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them’ (v.51). Wisdom is about the whole of life, rather than just our intellect or our words. Wisdom should grow Through his intimate relationship with God, ‘Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and people’ (v.52) – a very similar description to that used of Samuel (1 Samuel 2:26). Wisdom should grow as we get older. Not that Jesus’ wisdom was flawed or imperfect, but it grew as he matured, as it should with us. This is a prayer we often prayed for our children – that they would grow in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and people. Above all, Jesus’ wisdom came from his intimate relationship with God. God was his Father. He knew he had to be in his Father’s house, and his intimacy with his Father was the foundation of his wisdom.

Wisdom v knowledge

As someone has said, ‘Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.’ Knowledge is horizontal. Wisdom is vertical. It comes down from above. It is far more important to grow in wisdom than to grow in wealth. Wisdom outweighs wealth. Intimacy with the Father leads to growth in wisdom.

Speak to God about challenges

Like David, speak to God about all these challenges. Do not pretend that all is well. Speak from the depth of your heart. He will not be surprised or shocked by anything you say. It is this openness, vulnerability and honesty that draws you into an intimate relationship with God.

Intimacy with God

John Wimber said, ‘The ability to hear what God is saying, to see what God is doing, and to move in the realm of the miraculous comes as an individual develops the same intimacy with and dependence upon the Father [as Jesus had]. How did Jesus do what he did? The answer is found in his relationship with the Father. How will we do the “greater things than these” which Jesus promised (John 14:12)? By discovering the same relationship of intimacy, simplicity and obedience.’

Faithfulness

Mother Teresa said, ‘I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.’

Faith

Corrie ten Boom said, ‘Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.’

Praise, the overflow of enjoyment

‘All enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise,’ wrote C.S. Lewis. ‘… delight is incomplete till it is expressed.’

Deeper than happiness

We all want to live happy lives. ‘Happiness,’ wrote Aristotle, ‘is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.’ But there is something even better, greater and deeper than happiness. Happiness is dependent on what happens – our circumstances. Joy is far deeper and is not so dependent on our outward circumstances. It is a blessing from God. Joy was the characteristic of an encounter with Jesus even in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:44). Today’s New Testament passage uses a Greek word that we translate ‘blessed’. It means to be the privileged recipient of God’s favour, and to be fortunate and happy because of it. The Amplified Bible describes it as being ‘happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous – with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions’ (Matthew 5:3, AMP).

Rules

God’s ‘rules’ are his boundaries for life, given out of his love for us. Keeping God’s ‘rules’ is the way to life in all its fullness. His boundaries are not designed to restrict our freedom but rather to give us freedom. Like the rules of football, they do not stop the enjoyment of the game. Rather they enable the game of life to be enjoyed to the full.

Ownership

We are only stewards. The Lord says, ‘The land is mine… you reside… as foreigners and strangers’ (v.23). This is how we should regard property and possessions. They belong to God. They are on loan to you. God was teaching his people that there is no such thing as permanent wealth. You own what you own for a season. It is only God who owns them permanently.

Future World

As Tim Keller writes, ‘Why is it so hard to do the right thing if you know it’s going to cost your money, reputation, maybe even your life? Why is it so hard to face your own death or the death of loved ones? It’s so hard because we think this broken world is the only world we’re ever going to have... But if Jesus is risen, then your future is so much more beautiful, and so much more certain, than that.’

Forgive

As C.S. Lewis pointed out, ‘To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.’ As far as forgiving ourselves is concerned, he wrote, ‘If God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than him.’

Listen

He does not want you to be difficult to guide like a horse or a mule that must be controlled by bit and bridle (v.9). He wants you to avoid the pain of resisting the Holy Spirit. If you follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit you will avoid unnecessary pain. He wants you to hear his voice daily, listen to his instruction, walk in his ways and trust in his love.

Christos Messiah

The English term ‘Christ’ is derived from the Greek ‘Christos’, which translates the Hebrew ‘Mashiah’ or ‘Messiah’. Both the Greek and the Hebrew literally mean ‘anointed’. We have seen Jesus as the anointed High Priest of God. Here we see him as the anointed King.

Envy the religious sin

He is handed over to Pilate out of envy (‘Sheer spite’, Mark 15:10, MSG) by the religious leaders. Be careful of envy. It is sometimes described as the ‘religious sin’. Jesus is subject to insults and false accusation. If you are slandered or bad-mouthed be thankful that God allows you, in a tiny way, to enter into the sufferings of Jesus and pray that God will help you to respond as he did – with love and forgiveness.

Grudge

Holding a grudge is like allowing someone else to live rent free in your head.

Hypocrisy

In the Greek, the word for hypocrisy is the same word as the word for mask (masks were used in Ancient Greece for acting). On the outside Judas was wearing a mask of love for Jesus. In reality, he was betraying him to be crucified. The kiss was the ultimate act of hypocrisy.

Line between good and evil

The Nobel Prize winner and most important Russian literary artist of the second half of the twentieth century, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008), who was imprisoned for eight years for criticising Stalin, wrote, ‘The line separating good and evil passes, not through states, nor through classes, nor between political parties... but right through every human heart – and through all human hearts.’

Peer pressure

I heard this true story: A woman was asked ‘What is the best thing about being 104 years old?’ She replied: ‘No peer-pressure.’ There is often a temptation to conform to peer-pressure and follow the standards of those around us. One area where there is a great pressure to conform is sexual morality. In this context God says to his people, ‘Don’t live like the people of Egypt where you used to live, and don’t live like the people of Canaan where I’m bringing you. Don’t do what they do. Obey my laws and live by my decrees. I am your God’ (vv.2–4, MSG). Like the ancient Israelites we live in a culture that has very different sexual ethics to God’s. God wants you to safeguard his wonderful gift of sex, and not get enticed into following those around you. Be careful to follow God’s ways. If you do, far from missing out, you will actually find life; ‘the person who obeys [God’s decrees and laws] will live by them’ (v.5). God’s people are called to be different. St Paul wrote, ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world’ (Romans 12:2). This call to be different goes right back to the earliest days of God’s people (Leviticus 18).

Difficulties in life

Sometimes you may face difficulties in life not because you are doing something wrong but because you are doing something right. All of us will face tests, trials and temptations in life. You are not alone. Jesus himself never did anything wrong, yet he faced greater tests, trials and temptations than anyone in human history.

At communion

Every time you take the bread and the wine in communion, meditate on his great love, his sacrifice and his death for you. Receive again his forgiveness, mercy, grace and favour. Dedicate your life again to him and say, ‘Yet not my will but yours be done.’

Instant life style

We live in a society of instant gratification. Instant meals. Instant messaging. Instant cash. Instant loans. Instant fake tans. Instant fortunes won. There is a great danger of short-termism. The passages for today remind us that God is the ‘everlasting God’ (Isaiah 40:28). God views things through a wide-angled lens: he takes a long view and he wants you to enjoy a lifetime of his favour (Psalm 30:5).

Move mountains

Jesus uses hyperbole to explain that we must be absolutely confident in God’s readiness to respond to faith. In Rabbinic literature, ‘mountain’ is sometimes used figuratively to denote an obstacle. Jesus seems to be saying that God will come in response to faith to remove seemingly impossible obstacles. He says, ‘Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours’ (v.24).

Relationship with God is what we need

In one of his last songs, Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the rock group Queen, asked the question: ‘Does anybody know what we are living for?’ In spite of the fact that he had amassed a huge fortune and had attracted thousands of fans, Freddie Mercury admitted in an interview shortly before his death in 1991 that he was desperately lonely. He said, ‘You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man, and that is the most bitter type of loneliness. Success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds, but it’s prevented me from having the one thing we all need – a loving, ongoing relationship.’ There is only one relationship that is completely loving and ongoing, and for which we were created. Without that relationship there will always be a deep sense of aloneness and a lack of ultimate meaning and purpose. At the heart of the Christian faith is this relationship with God where we find what we are living for.

Atonement and forgiveness

Jesus made atonement for your sins Forgiveness does not come without atonement for sin (Leviticus 4:31,35; 5:10,13). One definition of atonement is ‘the action of making amends for a wrong or injury that brings two parties together as one’ – hence the word ‘at-one-ment’. Ultimately, it is only Jesus who made the perfect atonement for our sins (Hebrews 2:17). Jesus died as a sacrifice of atonement We read here of the elaborate sacrificial system of ‘sin offerings’ (Leviticus 4:3,29,33,34; 5:9,11,12). Jesus died as the ‘sacrifice of atonement’ (Romans 3:25) for your sin and mine. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice The sacrifice had to be ‘without defect’ (Leviticus 4:3,28,32). Ultimately, it was only Jesus who could be the perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 5:9). Jesus is the Lamb of God A lamb was brought as a sin offering (Leviticus 4:32). The guilty person had to lay their hands on its head. The lamb died as a sin offering to take away sin. Jesus is ‘The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29). Jesus’ blood was shed for you The priest had to take some of ‘the blood of the sin offering... and pour out the rest of the blood’ (Leviticus 4:34). The blood represented the life of the animal (17:11). Pouring out the blood was symbolic of the fact that the animal had died. This was in the place of the person making the sacrifice. The blood of Jesus was poured out for you and me (Matthew 26:28). Jesus has made God’s mercy available to all The words ‘forgiveness’ and ‘forgiven’ are words that appear over and over again (Leviticus 4:20,26,31,35; 5:10,13). ‘Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness’ (Hebrews 9:22). Through Jesus’ blood, forgiveness of sins is possible (Ephesians 1:7). As a result, God’s mercy is available for you and me.

The rich

Rich people and even rich nations are sometimes more resistant to the gospel. Wealth can lead to arrogance and a wrong kind of self-reliance. Yet Jesus says it is not impossible for the rich to be saved: ‘All things are possible with God’ (v.27).

Like children

Jesus is not suggesting that we become like children in every aspect. We are not to give in to every childish whim or assume no responsibility for our actions. But, like children, we are to be open and receptive, to be honest about our feelings – acknowledging how fragile and vulnerable we are and how much we need others. Like children, be quick to forgive and quick to move on in trust. Children are usually enthusiastic, appreciative and excited when given gifts. When it comes to God’s kingdom, we are to be exactly the same – dependent on Jesus’ gift to us and ready to accept it as a gift which we do not deserve, but which Jesus, in his mercy, offers to us.