Week 11 : Goodness : A virtue to adopt

Read: Luke 10:25-37

On day Jesus spoke of the importance of goodness after an expert in the Law asked him what he needed to do in order to live forever. The man was referred back to the Law. Jesus was quite keen to know how the man himself interpreted the teachings found in the Scriptures because he felt this man must have been very knowledgeable about the topic.  

The expert told Jesus, in his opinion, there were two things you needed to do in order to gain eternal life. First of all, you needed to love God totally. And second, you had to love those around you as much as you loved yourself. Jesus agreed with what this expert had to say and he told him he would receive life eternal if he did both of these two things.

Now the expert had no problem at all with the first task because the fact that he in love with God could not be disputed. After all, his extensive knowledge of the Scriptures was proof enough of this great love. However, he desperately hoped this alone was enough for him to life forever in the presence of God because he had no love for foreigners.  

Jesus seemed to under this because he then went on and told a parable about a Jewish man who was attacked by robbers. Both a priest and a righteous Jew walked past the wounded man without helping him before, finally, a Samaritan "took pity on him". He helped to man by cleaning and bandaging his wounds before taking him to a wayside inn.

The Lord then asked the expert in the Law who he though had acted in a neighbourly fashion to the man who had been attacked. The expert agreed it had not been his countrymen who had helped the injured fellow, but a stranger from a foreign land. This Samaritan had shown his goodness by stopping to give first aid to a man who he didn't even know.  

From this parable you can see how showing mercy to those are in need is an essential part of the Law. It is actually one of the prerequisites for being granted eternal life when Jesus returns to judge the quick and the dead at the end of time. Not only will your love of God be taken into account, but so too will your love of mankind, your endless compassion.

Always remember that when Moses said he wanted to see the glory of God, he was told, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." That is how God reveals Himself to friends and neighbours alike.

Pray: Jesus. Help me to be a good person lie this Samaritan so I can show goodness to those in need around me. Amen.

Week 10 : Witchcraft : A vice to avoid

Read: 2 Chronicle 33:1-20

Often in history a bad king succeeds a good one. This happened in 687BC when Hezekiah died and his son, Manasseh, became king of Judah. The greatest contrast between the father and his son can be seen the approach each one had to religion. Hezekiah centralised worship in the Temple in Jerusalem and Manasseh, initially, "practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists". The differences were truly astounding.

In Judah under Hezekiah a city-state based on Jerusalem seems to have developed. This is because the Assyrians had invaded Israel and many refugees had arrived in Jerusalem as living in the countryside had become largely impossible. In addition to adding to the fortification of the city, the king ordered the destruction of rural cultic sites, and he also sponsored much religious writing including the outpourings of several minor prophets.

The region had become a less dangerous place by the time Manasseh began his reign. In his approach to religion, he promoted the old practises as his reign progressed, even reinstating the worship of Baal and Asherah. Of course, practicing witchcraft was only one of a multitude of his evil deeds, all of which "the Lord spoke" against. This king totally ignored this warning so God allowed the Assyrians to capture him and deport him to Babylon.

The lesson here is clear. If you completely disregard God and continue to practice witchcraft and do what is evil in his eyes then you will be punished. For Manasseh this meant having a hook placed in his nose and being bound with bronze shackles. Only after being humiliated in this way did the king humble himself and pray; only then did God have compassion on him. He let Manasseh go back to Jerusalem. As a result king came to accept "that the Lord is God".

This is what people today who practice witchcraft need to do. Unfortunately, like Manasseh, these people see no real urgency in changing what they are doing. The light only begins to dawn if what they do leads to dire consequences. Then they are faced with a choice - repent or continue to suffer the consequences of their evil behaviour. And if these people choose to humble themselves and pray then they will be saved. Of this there can be no doubt.

After all, Manasseh went on to strengthen the fortifications of Jerusalem and to place soldiers in strongholds throughout Judah. This was more than he was able to do before he repented of his evil. So you can expect similar results if you repent of your evil. Your life will be more successful. You will discover, no matter how good your life might have seemed when you are practicing witchcraft, it will be even better because now you can really be like Jesus.

Prayer: Jesus. When we realise we have been doing the wrong thing, help us to repent so that we might be able to live a better, more successful life. Amen.

Week 9 : Kindness : A virtue to adopt

Read: Luke 6:27-40

Jesus said if you show kindness to those who are opposed to you, you'll be rewarded extensively because you're acting like God. His kind nature makes Him unique. He constantly expresses His kindness to people who are neither grateful nor good.

In the same way, Christians need to be kind to others, because to do so is to adopt a characteristic of God. This is a key to holiness. You become holy like the Lord when you do the things that He does and, accordingly, a lack of holiness is evident when you act to the contrary.

Of course, being kind to people who deliberately set out to hinder you isn't easy. It takes an awful lot of effort. Yet Jesus said not only must you persevere when you face persecution, you actually need to adopt responses that are opposite to what nasty people expect.

Consider the example of Eric Liddell, a missionary in China during the early 20th Century. He became a Rollcall Warden in a Japanese interment camp at Weihsien. Another prisoner, Norman Cliff, recalled Liddell "won the confidence and respect of the Japanese guards."

Where less sanctified people might have resisted, this man was diligent in his service to those who had imprisoned him. Rather than acting like a traitor, he also helped his fellow inmates. For instance, when a prisoner exchange was arranged, Liddell gave his place to a pregnant woman.

He was still interned when he died of natural causes. "The entire camp, especially its youth, was stunned for days, so great was the vacuum that Eric's death had left," said Langdon Gilkey 
(Shantung Compound: The Story of Men and Women Under Pressure).

Jesus too gave His life. However, He didn't do this to save only a single soul, but to save all of mankind. This was the ultimate act of kindness. It happened because "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The Bible states: "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man [or woman], though for a good man [or woman] someone [like Eric Liddell] might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Dying in the place of another, even if that person might be considered a lesser individual, is really quite kind. Eric Liddell had won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics, yet he kindly allowed a pregnant woman to take his place. And he didn't hate the Japanese, but showed them kindness.

While you and I will, hopefully, never have the opportunity to show such kindness, the least each of us can do is be kind to those who are around us, even to people who are nasty. Rather than holding a grudge against someone, look for ways you can be kind to them. Then you'll be like Jesus.

Prayer: Jesus. Help me to show how I can be kind to those who seem like they don't deserve it. Amen.

Week 8 : Idolatry : A vice to avoid

Read: Revelation 2:18-29

In one sense it is easy to avoid idolatry today because Christians don't worship images or symbols of God. Sure, churches are full of crosses and there are plenty of statues, paintings, relics, icons, stained glass windows and so on, but these objects aren't worshipped. Instead, they are revered. Deeply admired, these works of art remind us of holy lives well lived.

Where idolatry is a danger in modern time is when activities substituted for worship. Being side-tracked is so easy when, instead of going to church, we are tempted to do other stuff on Sunday. How easy is it to go shopping or attend a child’s birthday party or wash the car or whatever? Has following a favourite sporting team become an all-consuming passion.

Idolatry is the practice of worshipping idols. Traditionally this meant venerating an image, or a symbol, of a god during worship. Today we deeply admire sports stars, talented singers and actors, and so on. The cult of celebrity is all powerful. Pictures of these beautiful creatures fill the media. We like them of Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

And yet the Bible warns against such adoration. Consider the Second Command given to Moses by God: "You shall not make for yourself an idol". Ironically, this was the one rule the Israelites broke straight away. As Moses has been away for too long they started to worship a Golden Calf. If it was today, they'd probably have spent lots of time on goldencalf.com.

As the Jewish religion developed, no images of God where created for use in worship. Even in the Temple, which was built in Jerusalem, there was no statue of Him. The Roman historian Josephus said when Pompey, the Roman leader, went into the holiest part of the Temple, he didn’t find an idol.

Jesus said nothing about idolatry when he was on Earth. However, after his resurrection he did condemn the church at Thyatira for eating food that had been dedicated to idols. It seems like they continued the practice of blessed meals in the name of an ancient deity. In doing this they were following the lead of a local celebrity called Jezebel.

Food is a powerful symbol, as the sacrament of the bread and the wine known as communion testifies. Of this I have very little experience because my denomination makes no use of this and I'm uncomfortable even having bread rolls and grape juice at Easter. Nonetheless many Christians use this practice to draw closer to God.

Therefore, it is easy to conclude, the use of symbols in worship is fine. Only when these symbols are worshipped is there a problem. Such worship can take different forms. For example, fandom is a type of worship, as is substituting a world activity for a religious one. So you need to make sure you don’t fall into this trap.

Prayer: Jesus. Help me to see if anything I do could be considered to be idolatry and help me to restore the right balance in my life. Amen.

Week 7 : Patience : A virtue to adopt

Read: Matthew 18:21-35

Jesus once told a parable that expressed his feelings about patience, a virtue which is called "longsuffering" in the King James Version of the Bible. He told the story after Peter questioned him about the number of times you must forgive a sinful relative who offends you. Guessing the answer, Peter said, "Up to seven times?" Stating the guess was wrong, Jesus suggested this figure needed to be multiplied by eleven.

To illustrate the point, Jesus spoke about a ruler setting aside the debts of a subject. This man owed the ruler a fortune, but he was unable to repay the huge sum of money. In order to get some return on his investment, the ruler decided to sell both the man and his family into slavery and to liquidate all of his assets. The man begged the ruler to be patient and to allow him a bit more time to repay what he owed.

No doubt this large debtor hoped, instead of being angry or anxious to get his money back, the ruler might agree to wait just a little while longer. After all, the ruler had already been carrying the financial burden for some time. However, rather than being patient and allowing the man more time to repay the loan, the ruler chose not to seek any money whatsoever. He did this out of compassion for the large debtor.

After gaining his freedom, Jesus said, this large debtor went to a third person who owed him a small amount of money. He grabbed the small debtor by the throat and demanded his money back. This man asked his colleague to adopt a patient attitude, reassuring him the money would be repaid. Unwilling to comply with the request, the large debtor had the small debtor imprisoned, refusing to let him out until the loan was repaid in full.

Jesus said there were some other servants who had seen what had happened. He told of how they all went to the ruler and told him what the large debtor had done to the small debtor. According to the Lord, the ruler then had the large debtor brought before him and he was fierce in his criticism of the behaviour of this man. Not only was the large debtor imprisoned, but he was tortured until his loan was repaid, said Jesus.

The lesson here is interesting. Lenders and debtors are longsuffering because it takes a lengthy period of time for a loan to be repaid. In the same way, it takes a large amount of effort to forgive others when you are sinned against, but this must be done. In fact, if you don't forgive those who trespass against you, then God will not forgive you. As a result you risk being condemned for eternity to a tortuous life in the worst prison imaginable.

Pray: Jesus. Forgive my trespasses and help me to patiently forgive those who trespass against me. Amen.

Week 6 : Debauchery : A vice to avoid

Read: Matthew 14:1-27

Jesus didn't speak about debauchery, but he did long for some privacy in order to pray after debauchery led to the death of John the Baptist. This happened when the daughter of Herodias, the wife of Herod, danced at his birthday party. Mark said, "She pleased Herod and his dinner guests." As a reward, he offered the girl whatever she wanted. Prompted by her mother, she asked for the head of John, a man who was considered to be a prophet of God.

There can be no doubt that this barbaric beheading shocked Jesus to the core. He dearly wanted to mourn the loss of John, his own dear cousin, by praying in private. Unfortunately this proved to be impossible because when he went off by himself, according to Matthew, "crowds followed him on foot." Putting aside his own needs, he responded compassionately and began healing those who were ill. Then, as the day drew to a close, he miraculously fed all of them with the scant resources at hand.

So busy was Jesus, he had no opportunity to comment on the debauchery that had led to the death of John the Baptist. Yet his reaction suggests he was appalled that the execution resulted from the indulgence of sensual pleasures of Herod and his cronies, who were the living out totally wanton fantasies, which were pleasing yet offensive at the same time. He might have also been concerned that innocence of the young woman had been corrupted when her mother led her into debauchery.

In the same way, people today are offended when they hear about young women being forced into prostitution after being trafficked across international borders. This isn't a massive problem in Australia at the moment, but it does happen. There have been a score court cases in Australia were human trafficking has been alleged. As many as a thousand women may be working here as prostitutes under oppressive contracts. Women from Eastern Europe and Asia are the most likely victims.

Really the prepetrators of human trafficking need to realise that introducing someone to debauchery is just plain wrong. It seems as if those who do this have no morals at all. Take Herod and Herodias, for example. They wanted to kill John the Baptist because he condemned their marriage - Herodias had been married to Herod's brother and her daughter wasa product of that marriage. Whereas they were motivated by a lust for power, human traffickers are motivated by a lust for money.   

One blogger in the United States noted earlier this year, "There is a lot of money in human sex trafficking, which generates an estimated $32 billion dollars annually. It is the fastest-growing criminal activity in the world today. According to a 2005 International Labor Office (ILO) report, a single female held for sexual exploitation yields an average of $67,200 annually in Western Europe and North America." These figures are just shocking.

Pray: Jesus. Please help the victims debauchery and hinder the perpetrators of debauchery. Amen.

Week 5 : Peace : A virtue to adopt

Read: Luke 7:36-50

One of the titles Isaiah assigned to Jesus in a prophecy was "Prince of Peace" and the heavenly host declared his birth brought "peace to men". Furthermore, peace was central to a promise Jesus made to his disciples. He said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you."

In Greek the word that is translated into English as "peace" is εἰρήνην. Replacing the Greek letters with English letters, its transliteration is "eirenen". This word "describes a condition of health, welfare, prosperity, [or] bliss". Jesus himself said you would remain untroubled and unafraid. The same word is used in Luke 7:50, where Jesus told the sinful woman who anointed him to peacefully move on.

What happened next cannot be said for certain because the sinful woman isn't named, but she might have been Mary Magdalene, who could also be identified as Mary of Bethany. Of course, this is speculation, because the New Testament is hazy on this point. However, if the sinful woman was either or both Marys, then long-term benefits of the peace flowing from Jesus might be known.

John said Mary of Bethany "was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair." This happened at a dinner in Bethany after Lazarus was raised from the dead and before the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. To confuse matters, Luke describes a dinner at the house of a Pharisee at which a sinful woman wiped the feet of Jesus "with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them." She did this soon after Jesus raised the son of a widow from the dead in Nain.

The two accounts are similar, anointing at a dinner after a resurrection, yet the locations are different. The map of the Holy Land (below) indicates Bethany was near Jerusalem, whereas Nain was near Nazareth. And Luke places Jesus, after his conversation with the Pharisee, near the Sea of Galilee. So the dinner might have taken place in Magdala, which has a lakeside location, and the woman in question could have been Mary Magdalene.


Source: http://www.bible-history.com/maps/palestine_nt_times.html

So if the sinful women was Mary of Bethany and/or Mary Magdalene, her fate can be known. Both Marys were wholly devoted to Jesus. Mary of Bethany sat in awe of him and Mary Magdalene was the first to see him raised from the dead. Both women are portrayed as being healthy and happy.

While true identity of the sinful woman cannot be known for certain, what Jesus said to her is certain. He said to her, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace." What a blessing! As a reward for being saved by your faith in Jesus, you can know the peace he offers. This peace is a sense of continual blessedness stemming from knowing all your sins have been forgiven.

Prayer: Jesus. You know the identity of the sinful woman you sent away healthy and happy, and you know me too. Please grant the same feeling of peace me. Amen.