God does not want what we can give Him; He wants us! (Matthew 22:15-22)

Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar’s." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away

The inscription reads  “Caesar
Augustus Tiberius, son of the
Divine Augustus”

Here we go again...


Sometimes I cringe whenever I read and think about how the Pharisees reacted to Jesus. He heals a man's withered hand on the Sabbath and instead of marvelling or rejoicing, they accuse Him of breaking the Law and then plot to 'destroy' Him (Mark 3:1-6). In this passage, however, they think that they have trapped Him. The common Jewish thought at that time was that the Messiah would deliver them from Roman rule, so how would Jesus respond to this question? In paying taxes, is He effectively supporting the Roman Empire? In common Jesus-style, however, he responded in a way which was marvellously unexpected. 


"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s."


BOOM! Another triumph for the Son of God :)


Jesus, in this passage, does not only answer the Pharisees' question but teaches us another Kingdom principle; "Render to God the things that are God's"


For a long time I thought that Jesus was teaching about sacrificing or tithing the gifts that God has given us - "God has blessed me with finances, so I shall 'render' part of my income back to Him". However, I don't think this is the message that Jesus is teaching us here. It is much more amazing than that...


God does not want what we can give Him. He wants us!


In Genesis 2, God says "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". So just as the people are to pay taxes to Caesar because the coin bears his likeness, we also are to offer ourselves completely to God because we bear His likeness. How amazing is that?


Paul writes in Romans 12:1 'I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.'


But what do we get in return? In paying taxes we don't really get any direct benefits, but the amazing thing is that in 'rendering to God the things that are God's' we get the greatest thing in return - "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28)


God wants you because He loves you. Whatever you have done, wherever you have been - it does not matter to God because He's your Father. He does not love a future you; He loves you just as you are!

There Is No Condemnation - Romans 8:1-4

^{Romans 8:1-4 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.}


I don't know about you guys, but I positively hate sin. Like yeast spreading its way through the whole dough, even the slightest sin pervades our lives and brings with it distress, despair and doubt. How many of us are still affected by the sin we committed in the past? How many of us are scarred by memories of the people we hurt, lied to or betrayed? Do we still pray forgiveness for the times we rebelled against God when knew his desires for us?


The enemy loves to bring us down by causing us to remembering our past sins. It is his way of distracting us from God's love and grace, and we must remember that it is Satan's character as the father of lies, for 'he was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him' (John 8:44). But for those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. None. Negative. We are absolutely free from the law of sin and death. 


I believe that God wants us to recognise our sin and mourn over it, yet not condemn ourselves. He wants us to be motivated into action and to rule over sin, being aware of Satan's character and attempts to disrupt our relationship with God.


There was a time about 6 months ago when every time I read the Bible I broke out in tears asking myself, 'Why would God send his beloved Son to die for me, when I have betrayed Him and His people on countless occasions?'. I think the answer lies in Jesus' parable concerning two debtors which he told to Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7:36-47.


³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. ³⁷ And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." ⁴⁰And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."



 ⁴¹"A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" ⁴³Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." ⁴⁴Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."


May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
J

More Than Words - 1 Peter 4:10-11

Dear friends,

I would like to share a verse which really impacted me during worship this morning.

1 Peter 4 - '10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.'

'Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God'. How much of our speech resembles oracles from God? In fact, how many of our words are what God desires for us to say to the world?

God has really blessed me recently with a multitude of opportunities to share His Gospel with non-Christians - yet what a responsibility it is! A 3 minute conversation could shape a person's attitudes toward the Good News for the rest of their life. Yet, God has trusted us with such a blessing; to have the pleasure of sharing the News that transformed our lives and brought us into a loving relationship with the Creator of the universe. What a privilege it is to see the words that we sow in faith blossom and bear fruit in a world of darkness and despair.

May my heart be filled with love for You
And let it overflow
To encourage others, build them up
Your tender mercies show
Oh Lord, my lips aren't worthy
To convey this news of grace
Anoint them in the hope that more
Will see you face to face
Amen

Blessings in Christ,
J

God Meant It For Good

Romans 8:28 - 'And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.'


I would like to share with you two experiences of mine from the past two weeks; experiences where I believe God's providence and provision are evident.


The first series of events link the loss of my Debit Card to a marvellous encounter with fellow Brothers in Starbucks.


Lose Debit Card at Sainsburys -> Take cash out with Cash Card -> Stop off at a Church Book Shop as I have cash -> Purchase books -> Sit at Starbucks reading books -> Men observe the books and begin a conversation about God -> Connection made with fellow disciples of Jesus Christ


If I hadn't misplaced my Debit Card, I wouldn't have had the cash to purchase the books and consequently my Brothers would not have had a reason to begin a conversation with me at Starbucks. God was able to use these events to bring about a connection which will no doubt prove influential on my walk with Him. 


The next series of events follow from a time when I was without a Bible (I only had a Hebrew Old Testament) and was praying that God would provide me with one as I was hoping to write encouraging letters to people and would have loved to quote verses from the New Testament.


Debit card gets declined at restaurant -> Get it sorted -> Card gets declined again when buying a train ticket -> Get it sorted once more -> Try to take cash out of machine for train ticket home -> Card declined again -> Walk to Alisdair's to borrow change for my train ticket (whilst praying about the Bible) -> Alisdair gives me money and his mother, Hazel, lends me her Bible


It turns out that when trying to get cash out for the third time there was nothing wrong with my card, but the machine itself. However, because I was required to do two security checks for my card not long before, I had assumed that Santander had frozen my account again. If it had not been for these events, I would not have walked to Alisdair's house to get change and would not have been given the wonderful gift of a Bible. I was then able to quote Scripture in various letters I was writing and through studying the Epistles, the Holy Spirit brought me abundant wisdom and revelation. 


These stories may not sound miraculous, but they showed me that God is able to take events that initially caused distress and inevitably use them for good. Take this example from the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis.


Joseph receives a vision from God involving his brothers bowing down to him -> Brothers get jealous and angry -> Brothers sell Joseph into slavery -> Becomes Potiphar's servant -> Gets thrown into prison after being accused of attempting to lie with Potiphar's wife -> Interprets dreams in prison -> Pharaoh has dreams and hears of Joseph's ability to interpret -> Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams and becomes a commander over Egypt -> Brothers travel to Egypt to escape famine and bow before Joseph -> Joseph's initial vision is fulfilled.


The story of Joseph is an amazing and hugely influential one. It clearly shows God's providence and provision through a series of events which in themselves brought distress. It took 13 years as a slave and a convict before Joseph's vision was fulfilled. He later responds to his brothers' plea for forgiveness by saying, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Genesis 50:20).


We experience such sadness, distress and discomfort in our everyday lives, mostly outside of our control. However, God cares for us and promises to provide for our every need. He has the power to use any situation for our good, as long as we place all our love and trust in Him. In retrospect to these series of events in my life, I can see how God has been able to use my experiences of evil and suffering to bring about good, drawing me into a closer and more intimate relationship with Him.


Shalom in Christ,
J

Who's in Control?

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
1Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honour, 5not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.8Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.


How often in our everyday lives do we hear the the phrase  "I couldn't control myself". It can be heard in a variety of different contexts, e.g. shopping, indulging in various foods or drinks, being under the influence of alcohol, etc. It seems that instead of practising self-control we are willing to let certain external aspects of our lives have authority over what we do.When Paul tells us to 'control our own body' it seems as if he is insinuating that we have granted the opportunity for other aspects of our lives to take control.  The following is a brief list of the things which I feel have great control over our actions in our day to day lives:

• Lust - In the passage from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 above, Paul uses this notion of self-control in the context of sexual immorality. How much care is taken in our lives as to how we look, how we act towards people or what we practice in regards to our relationships with the opposite sex. How often are our actions influenced by our fleshly desires and not by that of the Spirit? (See Romans 8:1-16, Galations 5:16-28)
• Addiction - When we hear the word 'addiction', what do we instantly think of? Alcohol? Drugs? Pornography? In fact, anything in our life can become an addiction or an 'idol' in regards to Biblical teaching. I have seen people who have become addicted to television, video games,  sports, music, boyfriends/girlfriends, coffee, etc. The list is endless, yet each of these have the potential to become an idol, getting in the way of our relationships with family, friends but most of all God. The Enemy will use these idols to take control of our lives, so we should be willing to give up everything  which is finite in order to follow the infinite Jesus Christ. (See Exodus 20:4-6, Romans 1:18-25)
• The masks that we wear - This is quite a fitting subject as we emerge from the season of Halloween. What do we want people to see when they look at us? How many of our actions are influenced by the person that we wish to portray ourselves to be. We wish to portray ourselves to be strong when we our weak, that we know much about a particular subject to seem intelligent when in fact we our ignorant towards it, that we walk in the Spirit when we in secret still indulge in the desires of the flesh. Our actions are often controlled by the opinions that we desire from those around us. Jesus uses the word 'hypocrite' to describe the practices of the Pharisees, stemming from the Greek hypokritḗs meaning a stage actor, hence one who pretends to be what he is not. Are we under the control of the part that we play in society or the actor himself/herself? (See Matthew 6)

I have often had conversations with non-Believers who say that they are free to do what they want, that they are 'their own God'. When I look at the world I can only see chaos. I see people bound by the idols that they worship, outside of and within the Church. The only freedom that we can experience is that which is found in Jesus Christ - 'For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery' (Galatians 5:1). 

Paul tells us that it is the will of God that each of us should aim to to control his own body in holiness and honour. By submitting to the will of God, we are breaking the control that the Enemy tries to exert over our lives. After God favours Abel's sacrifice of Cain's, He says to Cain in Genesis 4:6-7, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it". Satan's desire is to take control of our lives by taking our eyes off God and onto the worship of idols. We must be aware of the idols that take control of our decisions, so that all of our thoughts, words and deeds will be in the glorification of God who is blessed forever! Amen.

God Bless you all,

J

Heavenly Father, I pray that you will break any idols in our lives that affect our relationship with You. Allow us to exercise control over our bodies in a way which is holy and honourable to You and make known to us Your will for our lives. Forgive us for making idols of the gifts that you have given us. May we put you as the centre of our lives, allowing you to take the crown as King of our hearts. Amen

What If The Church Was A Franchise?

Good day, all :)


This afternoon I ventured into Subway in order to enjoy the £2.99 Student Value Meal (which may sustain me through the duration of my undergraduate degree). As I approached the counter I realised that the features of that specific branch were almost identical to every other Subway that I have entered. I reckon that as it is part of a franchise, they expect a customer to experience a similar service every time they enter a Subway branch. They normally offer identical services such as:

• The menu and price list
• The ingredients used in sandwiches and snacks
• The questions asked by the employee - "Which bread would you like?","Any salads/sauces?", etc.
• The décor of the restaurant - Tables, chairs, wallpaper, etc.
•  The crisps and drinks available
• etc...

As the 'Sandwich Artist' prepared my Italian BMT I pondered to myself, what if the Church resembled a franchise? What if at every meeting on any given Sunday;

• The order of service was exactly the same
• The same songs were sung 
• The same reading was spoken from only one translation of the Bible 
• The same sermon was preached
• The same events were to happen throughout the week

Imagine that there was a central body that decided what the Church was to do (in response to the Holy Spirit)? I recognise that certain denominations partly resemble this notion, but let's hyperbolize  for the moment. What if there was total control over the meetings of every congregation that met to worship the LORD?

What would the benefits of such an institution be? Does God intend for the Church to be organised in this way? Should there be such diversity when it comes to worshipping God? Is this notion just preposterous? 

It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on this matter. Please feel free to comment below, or to email me at jbowermusic@gmail.com 

God Bless,

J

P.S. I'll be in Bangor from Thursday-Sunday of this week. Give me a shout if you would like to meet up.

The Promises of God

Proverbs 30:5 - 'Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.'


Joshua 21:45 - 'Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.'


2 Corinthians 1:20 - 'For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.'


I love how definite these verses are - 'every word of God', 'all came to pass', 'all the promises of God'. I know in my life I find it hard to trust the promises of God contained in the Bible; however, I find these verses really encouraging. I feel that God is simply telling me "Just trust me. I won't let you down."


My challenge for you is that you read the promises contained within the Bible and ask yourself whether or not you truly believe that it will come to pass. Here are a few to set you off:


Jeremiah 29:11 - 'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.'


Matthew 11:29-30 - 'Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.'


John 10:27-29 - 'My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.'


Many Blessings,
Jay