Jesus also told His disciples to adhere to and seek truth from the Holy Spirit: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:3 NIV)
The Bible’s view of the truth of our Lord, in our focal verse is to make men holy, separate from the world, aside from those knowingly contradicting or evading truth made intelligible via scripture alone.
“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your Word, which is truth” (John 17:17 NLT)
Jesus is referred to as the express character of God, revealing His father’s love and His maxims expressed in His Word to mankind. He said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV) He came to reveal a new way of thinking about love, about grace, mercy, and forgiveness – a way of freedom from guilt and the eternal consequences of sin. Apostle John says that the Word of God is truth and is a standard to rely on. Jesus expressly prayed asking His Father to teach His apostles from the Scriptures alone: “…teach them your Word, which is truth” (John 17:17 NLT)
“His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:15b-16
I was to meet my daughter for the Kitchener, Christmas parade. The parade began, and she had not arrived with the children (held up at the doctor’s office). I got a call “I’m here, in the parking garage”! As I helped the grandkids out of the van, I was informed: “Santa Clause just passed by.”
Instead of the parade, I enjoyed a visit with my grandchildren for about an hour plus, alone. She conversed freely with me. Flipping through a little Bible, she noted the word love in 1 Corinthians 13. “I know this word, love”. She began to tell me about the Spirit of God, His love and His desire that we have more Life.
Next, she headed for my Bible with many inquiries. Flipping it open she said, “did you do this?” as she perused my underlining in the Word. “Why?” was the next question. I pondered, wow, Jesus must be akin to the Grandfather with His own grandchildren. I praised Him over my grandgirl silently, considering what Jesus said, “Except my Father invites, no one can come unto me” (John 6:65 my version) And we talked, further.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Phil 4:4 ESV)
Media can overwhelm if we believe that we must follow every rabbit down its hole. Most of us have packed schedules. We may worry about deadlines, find it hard to sleep or get enough exercise. Moreover, we may not be happy, and thus incapable of rejoicing in the Lord at all times.
Augustine wrote in the fifth century, “Every man, whatsoever his condition, desires to be happy.” Blaise Pascal, a Christian, French philosopher, and mathematician wrote, “All men seek happiness. This is without exception”. Theologian, J. C. Ryle said, “All men naturally hunger and thirst after happiness.”
We don’t have a choice. Scripture commands us, not just invites us to rejoice. The need and the desire for happiness, designed by God, is built into the GPS of our mind, but many have lost a sensitive ear to hear God calling into our heart. We are tempted to follow many drummers down every path.
Daily we are bombarded with facts, pseudo-facts, fake news, and if you watch TV you’ve just added a myriad of talking heads! Daniel Levitin, the author of The Organized Mind, noted:
According to a 2011 study, on a typical day, we take in the equivalent of about 174 newspapers’ worth of information, five times as much as we did in 1986. As the world’s 21,274 television stations produce some 85,000 hours of original programming every day (by 2003 figures), we watch an average of five hours of television per day.
Are we making it increasingly difficult to hear God’s call to be happy, to rejoice, to praise Him for what he has done and for what he gives us? Many Christians are highly disciplined. They exercise regularly, take time for relationships they value, cultivate kindness and reach out to help others, some exercise their talents and get into the flow of playing an instrument, playing golf, skiing or teaching.
For many Christians, “being happy yields an uneasy guilt. Being holy is something we can do in God’s presence one day a week, but being happy is something we’re more comfortable doing behind his back (which isn’t possible)” 1 Yet Scripture teaches us to be happy before the LORD: “You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters”. (Deuteronomy 12: 12). “May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!” (Psalm 40: 16, NET)
The Bible is full of guidance to bring us to the realization that we may have lost our joy in our relationship with the Lord. In fact over 2,700 verses in the Bible contain words such as joy, happiness, gladness, merriment, pleasure, cheer, laughter, delight, jubilation, feasting, exultation, and celebration. “God makes it clear that seeking happiness through sin is wrong and fruitless. But seeking happiness in him is good and right” 2
In the Old Testament, we find “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD!” (Deuteronomy 33: 29) In the New Covenant Jesus said: “Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven” (Matthew 5: 12, CEV)
Further, Jesus taught why happiness makes total sense: “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10: 20). We need to consider that we may be disobeying this simple command to be happy, thinking that we do not deserve any joy. Faith in the Lord, as well as the happiness it brings comes from hearing the Word, not scanning Facebook, watching TV, or allowing our minds to switch to the sources of information that destroy our peace.
If you are not experiencing happiness in the Lord, you may be missing the abundant life Jesus came to give. Jesus made it very clear that there are other powers at work in the world that work to steal your joy: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”. (John 10:10)
I believe our happiness, when radiated is a great witness for the Lord. I agree with Randy Acorn: “Consistently seeking our happiness in Jesus shouts to everyone that God is present and working in the world and that he’ll one day reign over a new universe.” 3 “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24)
1 Alcorn, Randy. God’s Promise of Happiness (pp. 2-3). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
2 ibid
3 Ibid
“…that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him”. (John 5:23)
God had impressed me to write about his Sovereign design of the father/son, about inter-relating in loving unity, which I had seen so clearly in the Gospel with the divine Father and Son. It was a very emotional subject because my son had just spent a week visiting from British Columbia. I often think about being closer to my son, through joint business for example.
Nathan and I did a lot of travel together. He slugged my cameras as I explored ruins doing art photography. He also directed my itinerary. During this time of travel Nathan was moving out of his youth into manhood. I also wanted him to experience history, art, and culture.
We traveled to the many ancient ruins of Italy and France once a quarter for one or more weeks, to photograph ruins and primary historical sites. I also found myself studying the photographic potential of the abstractions of modern architecture and oddities in urban and city settings. Old ruins in ancient settings interested me the most.
There is a theological connection with ruins. As a biblical teacher/writer I am very keen about naming the Old Covenant as a period of ruined hope, now focusing on the beauty of the distinctiveness of the New Covenant as taught by Jesus Christ.
In my traveling heyday, I was a much more complicated man. Now I de-access materialism, craving more time with my children and grandchildren. My daughter Christin has commented lovingly and frequently in our best moments, “Dad, you’ve changed” during which time I proudly see my little girl all grown up.
God was working in several ways to lead me. I was simultaneously led by the Spirit in another parallel project. Going over 40 years of photography, I thought “What could a ruin represent as a shadow-type of my life?” Perhaps, metaphoric milestones, representations of a progression or regression of my spiritual life-view over time could give me distinctive wisdom.
Now 62, looking over subjects I photographed. I reassessed my values, the scope of my personal growth, noting blind spots, revelations, foolish hindrances to vision, deafness to God’s voice, avoiding mindfulness in any present reality, and the glorious truths, as well as the dark side of my life’s journey.
Unearthing our distant past is hard work Similar to the ruins of Rome or Pompeii or Greece, my photographic images, in my mind’s eye, could never model a ruin to testify to my past terrifying ruin — the dissolution of familial love in my childhood family as the eldest of five siblings. My mother called on me as a boy, saying fraught with fear, I can hear her now: “you are now the man of the family.”
This would present to me a very serious loss to my psyche, my father, whom mother distanced us from.
Ruins depict the unknowableness of place and time. In a photo, it hides a different and disconnected past as hidden as my own (psychologists call this repression). It is looking back, a seeking for something, perhaps a reconstruction of a time that once was real. Freud wrote of ruins:
Imagine that an explorer arrives in a little-known region where his interest is aroused by an expanse of ruins…when they have been deciphered and translated, yield undreamed-of information about the events of the remote past, to commemorate which the monuments were built.
Ruins persist in the disorder of time, now to return as a metaphor for my very own past. My childhood family fell into ruination. Like the photographed ruins of Mars Hill during my trip to Athens, Greece, a time and place which resisted repression, thanks to the Apostle Paul’s preaching of the Gospel, ruins helped reactivate the repressed foes of my psyche with the help of the Holy Spirit leading.
Two writing projects coincided. It became clear to me that while dealing with my metaphoric journey, the present truth about Father and Son became powerfully activated. Nathan had recently told his friend in my presence about our last Italian dinner together after traveling to Rome, then Florence, and finally in Venice together. I listened. My mind was now very present in the conversation, and this past recalled the moment, though it was God working with my quest to understand more about my soul. Love, via the Spirit of God, flowed into my heart as I looked at Nathan before me, now twice the age of that evening’s memorable meal together. It was a kind of the last supper with him as our trip came to a close.
The reality of that unity with my son brought me resounding echoes of joy. Jesus prayed for His disciples before the cross. “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:11)
The assessment of my photography of ruins coincided with recalling my son’s visit, bringing me to a revelation of the divine nature of father/son unity: “one as we are one.” I began to understand the relationship that Jesus would have me enjoy with the heavenly Father, unity, and the oneness that time with Nathan echoed.
“…blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear” (Matthew 13:16)
Post 1: New Covenant Series
The Metaphor of Willful, or of Obstinate Perception
God used metaphors throughout the old and new covenant periods, to unlock the mystery of Israel’s rejection or acceptance of Jesus their Messiah and obedience to Yahweh’s — God the Father’s — will and covenants.
Ears to hear must love to hear from God Two of the key metaphors used throughout scripture are 1. “You have eyes to see but cannot see”; and 2. “You have ears to hear but cannot hear”. Both describe a mental attitude of rebellion and obstinacy, an act of the will, of shutting off one’s intellectual reasoning capacity to perceive the truth, versus allowing the opening of the mind to an honest perception of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. This was a prevailing attitude among the educated leaders of Christ’ day. It is also an attitude that we find today — a difficulty seeing the that the New Covenant in Christ, is in fact, new and different from the Old Covenant.
When Stephen opened up the scriptures as he was on trial for his faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Jews rather than hearing the new covenant viewpoint about Jesus as noted in Acts 7:57, “cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him” to stone him. Stephen went back to the roots of the promises made to Abraham, their forefather, saying: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father, Abraham…” Try to get a visual of this as the narrative gets interrupted with a mad crowd, furious, and holding their ears in contempt with an attempt to not hear the truths that Stephen eloquently preached. With boldness, he stood trial and referenced this metaphor of Scripture: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you” (v 51). Thus we see that the symbol of ear-stopping is contempt for truth coming directly from God, the Holy Spirit.
Alas, “Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’”. (vs 54-56) Consider how you might turn God off when he is trying to bring a message to you, to restore you and bring you into a relationship with Him.
As Jesus confronted Israel’s spiritual leaders and priests, He made it clear that the majority of them were not seeing what the Old Testament scriptures indicated about their coming Messiah. For this reason, His unfolding a new revelatory conception of how God would now relate to them was unwelcome. (see John 9:41) He further said to His disciples privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see”( see Luke 10:23; Matt 13:14-15) Antithetical to his view of his faithful disciples, he quoted Isaiah regarding the impudent spiritual leadership of his day who fought against and ignored His Word:
“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” (Matt 13:14-15)
After His resurrection, John indicated that Jesus recommends that His church allows Him to reform their ways that they may see in Rev 3:18.
Peter’s opening words at Pentecost draw on new covenant themes, such as the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) to lead the people, superior to the unfaithful leadership of the Jewish priesthood.
Paul, after accepting Jesus, after he had persecuted Stephen and had many Christians killed, he incorporated these ideas in his writings and states that the new covenant forms the core of his ministry (2 Cor 3:6). There is a language about the “washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (see Titus 3:5) He reflects the concept of the awakening shift away from legalism to a new arrangement with God that would ruin the reputation of the current priestly work and the status of the priests. Via the Holy Spirit’s guidance, the people would move away from the priestly leadership of the Jews to hear from God directly.
This also provides the background for Paul’s comments about the resurrection of those who are dead to sin (Rom 6:5–11; Eph 2:1–10). In Acts 28:21-29 Paul explained the scriptures about Jesus to the Jews, the most of whom left without understanding or believing. Paul clearly stated that the Jews did not care to understand the Gospel message in Rom 11:8.
Faith can only come by the honest hearing of the Word of God which occurs by reading the Bible and listening to those who minister the Word of God. When reading the Gospels, you will find Jesus remapping the Jewish religion as He introduces the New Covenant way of life – totally different than what old Israel had ever known. It was a way of living according to the precepts of love for God and man and allowing followers of God to have the entire freedom to choose to act in accord with the new covenant with respect to Christ’s redemption of their souls from eternal death.
I write this on Thanksgiving weekend, with much gratefulness in my heart. My daughter Lisa entered a rock slide on a British Columbia mountain highway when rock, larger than a football went through her window. It grazed her head and ear. Her friend was able to take over the car to bring it to a safe stop. I have shared a couple of photos from her Facebook to give you a perspective of my thankfulness.
The rock cut her ear horizontally as it entered the cab, stunning her to the degree that she could not drive.
I praised God greatly this weekend, knowing she was aware without any deficits excepting the need for a plastic surgeon to repair her cut ear. This all happened Friday evening and she returned home Saturday with her attentive friends and family supporting her all the way. I am so grateful for her life being saved by our Sovereign Lord and His angels.
As I praise God for her life, I will point out sixteen major clusters of references to “life” in John’s gospel, spanning from the introduction (John 1:4) to the predominant statement of purpose (20:31).
“Eternal life” is the subject of conversation in Jesus’ interchange with Nicodemus in John 3 and with the Samaritan woman in chapter 3 of the same Gospel. All told, “life” is the subject in virtually every chapter in the first half of John’s gospel. Also “life” features significantly in Jesus’ pronouncements in 14:6 and 17:2–3.
Here is a list of major references to “life” in John’s gospel and letters presents as follows.
John’s Gospel references:
“Life” is also a major theme in John’s first letter. It opens with a reference to the apostolic message regarding the “Word of life” and its incarnation (1 John 1:1–2). The letter also speaks of passing from death to life similar to the gospel (3:14; cf. John 5:24) and connects the possession of life to love (1 John 3:14–15). The purpose statement at the end of 1 John mentions “life” five times in the short span of three verses, striking a note of reassurance. All in all, this letter features thirteen instances of “life” (zōē) and one occurrence of the verb “to live” (zaō; 4:9). There are also six such clusters referring to “life “in 1 John.
John’s Letter References:
I am thankful that Lisa prays with her father frequently for protection. I give all the Glory to the Lord for her safety and her life through this harrowing experience.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I have decided to take a few weeks off writing, beginning now, to regroup, rest and enjoy spending time with family.
I think about our Lord’s directive to His disciples: “Come aside and rest awhile”, Jesus
See you in September: Enjoy your summer!
Glen Jackman
“And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 2:17)
Have you ever felt that you are too worried about people or things outside of your immediate control – that perhaps you don’t trust God the way that the Word informs you that you should? Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow. When I worry it is usually NOW, not tomorrow or about the future.
Looking at our focal text, we can see an immediate worry of Gehazi, Elisha’s assistant who began to fear for his life. The King of Aram (present day Syria) sent an army to capture Elisha the prophet because he knew that he was pre-warning Israel about his looming military tactics, which were always known in advance, spoiling Aram’s military strategies. Elisha prayed that his servant’s eyes would be opened so that he could spiritually discern God’s protection surrounding them.
Can this apply to me as a father, aware that my daughter is driving in the BC Rockies when I spot a freak snow storm in her path? These are the kind of worries I have had, as a father. It doesn’t help that I am a weather nut with three apps on all my devices. I check BC weather daily, in two cities where my son (my eldest of 4 children) and my youngest of three daughters live. Having lost a brother in a car accident due to a drunk driver, I can worry about my family’s safety often.
The apostle Paul wrote an oft-quoted Bible verse which comforts many people in trials: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)
The thought may come to my mind, “Yeah, but Paul was single and did not have children to be concerned about!” Then the Holy Spirit brings to my mind that Paul endured an intense hurricane for a time and suffered shipwreck, yet Paul took to calling on the Lord in prayer. He was assured of his safety because he discerned from the Lord whom He prayed to, that no one would come to harm on the ship if they stayed aboard, including the non-Christian crew.
The gospel record records that Jesus also comforted His disciples who were frightened during a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus questioned their faith, yet commanded the sea to become still and brought the boat to safety. The disciples were amazed and claimed that Jesus had sovereign powers over creation: “even the winds and the seas obey Him” (see Mathew 8:27; Mark 4:41; Luke 8:22-25; also John 1:3, Colossians 1:16).
In situations where I worry, I’ve realised that all I can do is make the phone calls of warning as best I can, and help to assist as far as possible. The most important thing I can do is go to my Bible on my knees, and lay out God’s promises and pray over my favourite verses such as “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9 ESV) More importantly, I am reminded that Jesus is Sovereign and one in power with the Father: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17 ESV).
I realise that I must seek the Lord, admit my need for godliness – for His indwelling Spirit, submit to Him in obedience — and further submit my worries to Him, making my requests to him to protect my children, secondly to mitigate my terrifying spiritual weakness. I can trust my Lord because “in him all things hold together”.
Like the apostles in the storm, I rely on His Sovereign powers of control when I admit that I am powerless. I have come to realise that this is one of the ways that God builds my faith and develops my relationship with Him, through my anxious suffering.
My eldest daughter said kindly over lunch after church recently, “Dad, it’s out of your control. Counsel can help alleviate your stress.” Hmm, I agree. I’ve always told Christin that she is wise with her deliberations, that wisdom is one of her gifts.
I’ve utilised Christian psychological counsel often over the years, seeking to find a mean calibration of spiritual concern, which admittedly can shift to extreme take-charge now when I occasionally might get shaken up like Elisha’s servant during “unseen” risk deliberations. Psychological balance while trusting Christ helps me reason better — I’m not perfect yet — and hopefully pray more objectively while staying calm, understanding that God is the first father of my children. Jesus really understands behavioural worry. He said: “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34 NLT) I can’t agree more.
