Paul spoke to the Galatian church about the freedom which comes with serving God. Paul’s ministry was to the Gentiles and he did not think that it was necessary to burden them with matters such as circumcision. Despite Paul’s efforts, other religious groups were putting pressure on the Gentiles to become circumcised. Paul was very frustrated about the attempt to put the people in religious bondage. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Paul likened their acceptance of any amount of false teaching, as being dangerous enough to corrupt their entire faith. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9). Paul wanted them to continue to live in freedom. His only caution was that they would not use, their freedom as an excuse to commit sin. The main admonition that Paul had for the church was to love and serve one another. Paul later stated that if they bite and devour one another, then they should watch that they are not consumed by one another. Paul was saying that it was important for the church to remain in unity.

The biting and devouring which Paul spoke about related to back biting, criticising and ongoing conflicts. One of the main features of this is slander and gossip. “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: So where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth” (Proverbs 26:20). Similar to Paul’s exaltation, Solomon was saying that talebearing increases strife. Not everything needs to be said and before we have some conversations and divulge information, we have to consider the consequences. Will your conversation paint someone in a negative light?

Are you encouraging bitterness, resentment and animosity? One of the best ways to settle a disagreement is to talk to the person whose behaviour we find offensive. Praying for the person is also a good way to start. Don’t use the excuse of, ‘wanting to pray for someone,’ as an reason to gossip about them. If you do then you are operating under the spirit of deception. If you are serious about wanting to help someone, you will pray before discussing the matter with anyone else. These small nuances can act as a stumbling block towards spiritual growth.

“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom” (Song of Solomon 2:15).

A.P.-Y.

Paul wrote in the book of Timothy, about believers being good soldiers in the army of God. Soldiers who are enlisted, live in confined or designated areas and undergo special training, to prepare them for battle. Similarly, believers have been enlisted into a mission and mandate to advance the kingdom of God. Every one of us has an assignment which we have been born to accomplish. Some of us will use singing and music to draw people to God; other people use preaching and teaching the word; for some people it is acts of service or the gift of encouragement.

Whatever the gift that God has entrusted to you, it is to be used for the establishment of the kingdom of God. Paul was saying that a soldier who is at war, does not have the time to become involved in civilian affairs. In other words, a soldier is focused on their assignment. Our battle and fight is for the faith and against principalities and powers. Our faith and belief in Jesus Christ is constanly under attack by this world system. Contrary ideas and doctrines seek to sway us from the truth of God’s word and to lead us astray with lies.

“But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness” (2 Timothy 2:16). We have to guard our tongue and watch what we say. The devil is after our words and will try to use what we say to ensnare us. Remember that life and death is in the tongue and we have whatever we decree. We have to guard against deception, pray always and continue to surrender our lives completely to God. A life that is fully surrendered brings glory to God. We are called with a high calling in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). We cannot afford to be distracted by the world’s trials and cares.

Our case is different and things don’t affect the church in the same way that it affects the world. We are set apart for God and his hand of protection is on our lives. We cannot give in to fear, worry and anxiety. Soldiers are trained to run towards situations that other people run away from. War is never an easy situation to experience and enemy fire will always be directed towards us. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

A.P.-Y.

Paul spoke on the subject of faith in his letter to the Hebrew brethren. He described faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). In simple language, faith is believing without seeing the physical manifestation. Faith to the person living in the flesh, can seem like foolishness. Human logic cannot reason out or understand faith and it takes trust to believe in things that we cannot wrap our minds around. We have to guard against spiritual blindness, as the god of this world loves, to pull a wool over the eyes of people.

Our education system teaches us to use deductive reasoning and science looks for facts and empirical evidence. God wants us to develop knowledge and the bible does say that Knowledge would increase (Daniel 12:4). What God wants us to do is to ask him for wisdom and revelation knowledge to understand the deep and hidden things. We have to remember that the bible says, “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness”” (1 Corinthians 3:19).

Intellectualism focuses on the use of the intellect and uses reasoning and rationale. This can sometimes come into conflict with what the bible says. The devil will find a reason and enough human logic to stifle our faith. He managed to lure Eve in the garden when he engaged her in the exercise of reason. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’”” (Genesis 3:1)?

This is why it is sometimes futile to get into an intellectual argument or debate about matters of faith. When it comes to faith, you choose either to believe that God is who he says he is or you don’t. The exercise of faith produces supernatural results which helps our faith to grow. Faith has to be put the test and exercised in order to grow and develop. Faith requires the innocence of a child to believe what God says to be truth. Too many Christians attend church and read the word, yet their faith is not fully developed. We have to grow and mature into spiritual adults who can master and exercise the things of faith.

A.P.-Y.

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth concerning their offering and collections to further the spread of the gospel. Paul told the church that it was up to each person to decide how much they wanted to give. This way, people would not feel forced or coerced into giving. Paul wanted people to understand that giving was a form of worship and thanksgiving. As people gave from a willing heart, God would bless their seed and provide the increase. The concept centres around the principle of sowing and harvesting. If a farmer eats all of his seed, then there will be no crop for the next harvest season.

I used to watch my parents doing farming and observed their harvest season. Each crop would produce a harvest to sell and for household consumption. My parents would also store up seeds from crops such as peas, tomatoes, corn and mustard. This was because, after the harvest season ended, they would need to make preparation for seed time and planting new seed. These activities kept the farm going, as they understood the need to interchange sowing with harvesting. There would also be seasons when they would allow the soil to turn over, or allow an area to rest before sowing again.

Similar to farmers, believers need to understand that sowing and reaping are interchangeable. You will never lose from giving into the work of the Lord. When you sow a seed, you are guaranteed to reap a harvest. Like most things within Christianity, sowing and reaping requires faith and a heart of thanksgiving. We give to express our thanks to God who provided the harvest. We also trust him that as we sow, he will multiply the seed and produce a greater harvest. “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11).

I am not sure if any of you have ever planted anything, but I have seen one seed produce a tree that has lived for many years. From one seed, many trees have gone on to produce many fruits. A farmer or a sower has to choose whether or not to eat the seed today to satisfy his hunger. The other alternative is to sow the seed and wait for it to germinate and produce an even greater harvest. We also have to become sensitive to the seasons, to know when to sow and when to harvest.

Pray and ask God to provide seed for sowing, so that you too can reap a harvest of righteousness. “For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God” (2 Corinthians 9:12).

A.P.-Y.

David wrote Psalm 100 to encourage us to give thanks unto God. He encouraged us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. We are to serve the Lord with gladness and come before him with singing. God made us to worship him and we belong to God. We thank the Lord for his goodness and faithfulness. We thank the Lord for his loving kindness which is better than life. God created us in his own image and likeness and he breathed his breath into our lungs. If we are alive today then we have a purpose to fulfil and hope for the future. I read before that gratitude is one of the most powerful human emotions that reduces stress. When we are grateful it takes our minds off our problems and focuses them on what is going well.

The world promotes the concept of optimism and the importance of looking at the brighter side of a situation. Modern thought theory supports the idea of the law of attraction which suggests that people attract more of what they focus on. In essence if we focus on our blessings, then we will attract more blessings. Alternatively, if we focus on our worries then we allow them to multiply. These concepts are not new phenomena and the bible have said from the beginning of time that we should focus on what is positive. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

The following scripture can be translated to explain optimism. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). In this verse, Paul was teaching us to train our minds to focus on what is good and worthy of praise unto God. There are many other verses that encourages us to allow our minds to be transformed and tells us that we have the mind of Christ Jesus.

No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, there is always something to give God thanks for. Even in death we can rejoice that we are transitioning to be with God in eternal rest and peace. The perspective is that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

A.P.-Y.

I don’t think that at the start of 2020, that anyone imagined that we would still be in a pandemic two years later. Events that were cancelled at the start of 2020, were predicting normality towards the end of the year. I am not sure that many of us alive today have lived through another pandemic. As such, most of us have nothing to compare this to. Perhaps historical chronicles, can tell us how long previous worldwide pandemics lasted. I think that most people have given up on trying to predict when things may return to ‘normal.’

I am not sure if most of us remember what normal is, or if we will ever return to than normal. Some social media influencers have suggested that we are likely to return to a ‘new normal’ instead. Either way, believers must hold in mind that although we are in this world, that we are not of this world (John 17:16). What is happening around the world has some impact on believers. However, being in the world, yet not of this world, means living above the world system. “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).

Paul also warned that we set our affection on things above and not on things of this world (Colossians 3:2). We also lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven, where no one can break in and steal (Matthew 6:20). As we are not of this world system, we have an inheritance in heaven. What is permitted to affect others, is not permitted to affect us. We are Ambassadors for God with diplomatic immunity. Our God has promised to restore to us, things lost or stolen. God is able to restore time, finances, relationships, missed opportunities and restore health.

We have the opportunity to harvest during the famine and if we keep our eyes fixed on things above, nothing shall by any means harm us. This is our year to rest and be restored in any area where we have suffered losses. Remember that God never restores to exactly what was before. God is a multiplier and whatever you lost, you can expect to be restored much more. “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double” (Zechariah 9:12). Start praying into those areas where you have experienced major losses. Ask God for the battle strategy and remember that the faith of a mustard seed can remove a mountain.

“And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all” (1 Samuel 30:8).

A.P.-Y.

Jesus makes reference to his disciples needing to become like children both in the context of humility and in the context of faith. In Matthew 18, the disciples questioned Jesus about who was greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus responded that in order to be great, that they needed to become like children. In other chapters, his reference is to them becoming the youngest or becoming a servant.

“It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26). In each instance, Jesus was teaching that intellectualism and our adult reasoning cannot get us into heaven. Jesus was constantly at odds with the religious leaders of his time.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were high priests who interpreted the religious laws of their times. These men were well educated and knew the scriptures and the laws of the Old Testament. How then did they miss the coming of the Messiah? They not only doubted who Jesus said he was, but orchestrated his crucifixion.

We cannot fit faith into logic and reasoning and sometimes faith will sound like foolishness. I am not encouraging us to abandon common sense and the exercise of wisdom. What I am saying is that very often, faith comes in direct conflict with our intellect.

As we mature into adulthood, lifetime experiences, disappointments and dissatisfaction can erode our faith. Children are impressionable and it does not take a lot of evidence for them to be convinced. Physical and emotional maturity is important, but let us also grow in Christlike maturity, to be able to accept that whatever God says is true. Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

A.P.-Y.

God is full of love and compassion towards us. He created us to love us and when we sinned against him and our sins separated us from him, he sent his son to die for our sins, in order to redeem us to himself. We don’t have to work for the love of God or be good enough to qualify for a place in his heart. “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:16). This statement from Isaiah reminds me of when a person gets a loved ones name tattooed on their arm. I am not encouraging anyone to get a tattoo, neither am I saying that anyone who has one is unsaved. I am referring to the emotion which God shows towards us. His love towards you is so deep, that he carved your name in his palm.

That thought made me smile and reminds me of how God keeps us as the apple of his eye (Deuteronomy 32:10). This statement refers to someone or something that a person cherishes above anything or anyone else. God chose you before the foundations of the world and he has placed his purpose and destiny within you. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jeremiah 1:5). You are not an accident but the divinely orchestrated plan of God, created for honour and good works which God ordained before time. Nothing that we have done or will ever do catches God by surprise and none of it changes his mind about us.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3). God is with us when we are hurting and David said that he is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). God longs to comfort and restore you and he wants to heal you where it hurts. It is religion and man made philosophies that cause us to think that God wants to punish us. Even when a child makes a mistake, a parent lovingly corrects, but their love does not change towards their child.

Remember that God loves you and he cares for you. He hurts when you are hurting and he has compassion for your pain and discomfort. Rest in his grace and assurance knowing that he loves you too much to leave you alone. Absolutely nothing can change the way God feels about you.

A.P.-Y.

In Matthew 22 and 23, Jesus continued his lament towards the religious leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees and the Scribes). They continued to question Jesus in order to test his knowledge of the law and scriptures. Each time they posed a question, hoping to catch him in an error, he answered and often outwitted them. He silenced the Sadducees when they tried to question him about the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees decided to test him on the commandments and asked him which commandment was the greatest. His response was, that loving God with all our heart, soul and mind is the greatest commandment.

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:39-40). What Jesus was saying to the religious leaders, was that without love, their religion was useless. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).

Jesus was angry that the Pharisees maintained an outward appearance of holiness, but inwardly they did not care about the needs of people. Paul also spoke on the subject of love to the Corinthians. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). Paul’s view was that no amount of prophecy, understanding of mysteries, great faith for miracles or charity can replace the need for love. The characteristics of love are patience, kindness, humility and tolerance.

Some people are truly hard to love and it is difficult to love someone who continues to hurt your feelings. This is where the grace of God comes in and enables us to do what is difficult. Love does not mean that you have to be close to everyone and setting boundaries to protect yourself is sensible. Love is being able to pray sincerely, for the person who hurt your feelings. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he prayed for his persecutors and asked God to forgive them.

This was while they were in the very act of crucifying him. If love was easy, then God would not have made it a commandment. Pray for the strength to love, because it is impossible to harbour bitterness and resentment, towards someone who you are praying for. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).

A.P.-Y.

Not only was Jesus not associated with the religious leaders of his time, but he stood in direct opposition to them. In Luke 20, the Scribes and Pharisees questioned Jesus’s authority. “and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority”” (Luke 20:2). They spent years studying the Torah and had risen to the ranks of religious leadership. In their minds, Jesus was a common person from among the Jews, who had sprung up to religious leadership. Large crowds followed Jesus and he healed the sick, worked miracles and taught the gospel with boldness and authority.

Jesus would have confused and upset the religious order of his time. One of the main challenge was that, he demonstrated how their religious interpretations of the law, kept people in bondage. Many people did not find the religious doctrines accessible. “And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers” (Luke 11:46). In this instance, Jesus was invited to a meal with a Pharisee. The Pharisee was concerned that Jesus did not wash his hands before sitting to eat.

In Jewish culture, ceremonial washing called netilat yadayim is observed, which is the washing of the hands with a cup. This washing was more about a religious ritual for the Jews, than it was about cleansing and hygiene. As such, a person who did not wash would be judged as ungodly or going against the laws of the Torah. “And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness” (Luke 11:39). Jesus was angry at the Pharisees’ and Scribes’ sense of importance, without a love for the things of God.

Jesus’s life and entry was not traditional or contemporary and he poked holes in a lot of religious ideas. It is easy for the church to stray into religious ideology and lose sight of the mandate to win souls for God. This happens when we strain over rules and regulations, over and above our love for people. We cannot burden people with dogma and lord our standards of holiness over them. Once we teach people the word and lead them to experience the love of God, a transformation will take place. We cannot take the place of God in people’s lives and our love for God should be more important than enforcing rules and personal judgement.

A.P.-Y.