Jesus

In Ons Midde

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Johan Afrikaans Creative Writing

Waar is U in hierdie situasie?

Die een waar ons gewrigte en bene droog en uitgeteer voel, en kraak en knak van die daaglikse verstek.
Waar die seesand ons verrimpelde voete weg kerf en die water stewige lae sout oor ons spoel.
Waar ons oë soos ou kole smeul in die knersende koue van winter, wat ook ons vleis hard en koud giet.
Waar ons onsself eindeloos probeer ontdooi met bekers stomende koffie, maar dit ons net al meer bedwelmd laat voel.
Waar ander mense agter skerms weg flikker en dit voel of daar geen strome van U lewende waters deur ons vloei.

U is in dit. Met U fluisterstem – naby genoeg dat ons U kan hoor as ons maar net ‘n oomblik vat om tussen ons knorre, gromme en verstrengelde gewoontes te kan luister.

What Should We Do?

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Johan Blog Scriptural Topic

Do you know who God created you to be, and what you should do with your life?

I believe it’s crucially important to know. So that you can enter a place of rest, have clarity, confidence and the God-given strength to persevere. Having God’s vision of and for you helps you to align with it and enter that place of rest in which you don’t over (or under) extend yourself.

But where do you start?

Overview

The Broad Foundation (Old Testament Law)

In the old testament, God told Joshua to diligently obey the entire law and meditate on it day and night so that he may be prosperous:

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:7-9 NIV

The Refined Foundation (New Testament Law)

Jesus changed the landscape of obeying laws completely, and it turns out all the Mosaic laws are contained in two “simple” ones that make His heart and intention behind them clearer:

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31 NIV

One of the dangers is that we only focus on fulfilling laws and forget all about God and our relationship with Him (Jesus gives a stern rebuke for such people in Matthew 23).

Fortunately, God does have a great understanding of our position, and to us who believe, He has given the Holy Spirit to guide and help us so that we don’t just end up tirelessly and heartlessly following a set of rules, rituals, laws and expectations (this article explores the topic of being free from the law in great detail), but rather navigate the freedom and forgiveness we have in Jesus (and enter A Growing Rest):

But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:15‭-‬22 NKJV

How to Approach this Adventure

It’s important that we give ourselves cheerfully when striving to obey His commandments (we can always start with baby steps):

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV

While keeping in mind that we need His discernment to know when to challenge ourselves in what our hearts are willing to give, because our sinful nature (our flesh) will likely want to choose the path of least resistance and comfort:

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:16-18 NIV

Let God Lead the Way

To me, the ideal way is that everything we do, and getting a picture of who we are, flows from our love relationship with God (seeking His face, enjoying His presence, hearing his voice, following His promptings – some more thoughts on this in one of my previous posts – To Eat from the Tree of Life 2).

I can leave you at this point and encourage you to get to it, but I will shed some light on some of the specific, practical things we can be called to do.

First, find comfort in that you are intimately known and knit together by God:

¹³ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalms 139:13-14

Humbly Serve in the Body of Christ

Paul tells us that we are each called to humbly serve in the Body of Christ in various ways (I wouldn’t limit myself to one, permanent box – we are indeed pieces of clay):

³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:3-8

Make Disciples of All Nations

You don’t have to “go” very far to make disciples (although I’m not saying you shouldn’t). I strongly believe this can happen wherever you go each day.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20

Discover Your Identity and Traits

In my experience, God has revealed some of my true character traits in broad strokes, and others in finer, specific ones. Some of these traits blend in with my talents (natural, and developed), and are things that I can joyfully carry the load of each day. He has also shone a light on some good qualities, and some “dangerous” qualities that I need to stay mindful of. Related: Wie is Jy.

How? Out of the blue, and while reading certain scriptures, I have felt Him drop insights of who I truly am and what I’m called to do. Other Christians have also prophesied over me, confirming things and establishing new ones. Throughout this process of self-discovery in Christ, we have to trust and pray for discernment, because our hearts can be deceiving.

Grab it by Faith and Judge the Fruit

Ultimately, we need to grab our identity and responsibilities by faith (believe it to be true even though we can’t yet see it), and be mindful of the fruit that flows out of us;

¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7:17-20 NIV

so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God
Colossians 1:10

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25

A Growing Rest

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Johan Blog Scriptural Topic

Are you in rest? Truly?

I’ve been reminded of a kind of rest that is a bit different than the one typically held up by the world’s shiny, golden poles – one that it isn’t a place of standing still, or an ever-elusive destination.

Instead of it being a place, I see it as a journey, where the Shepherd provides exactly enough to keep your belly filled with grassy jelly and your eyes shiny with glee.

You, in your absolute freedom of choice and independence, can definitely strike up some sweat on your brow and purchase yourself a fine piece of rest. But I can guarantee you, by the testimony of many a successful man and woman, that even that little plot will eventually crumble into something dry and empty.

Jesus is the only everlasting key. Many a time, and certainly now, He’s a door-knock away, and waiting with open arms for us to enter His rest. For us who have accepted Christ in faith, we have to listen (and respond) to those tiny nuggets of divine wisdom that the Holy Spirit drops into our souls; the small things we need to do, repent of, or change, to clean our consciousness and enter His rest.

But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:15‭-‬22 NKJV

He already sees everything, and He is mighty to discern and divide between the things in your soul and spirit that are either rest-traps or rest-injectors. And when we clear out our conscience, we can boldly enter His throne of grace, where His provision is plenty.

“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:7‭-‬16 NKJV

I mentioned it above – that this position of rest is one in which we are still moving and growing. If you’re still new, or even if you’re as old as a greybeard-goat, the scriptures point out the things of our fallen nature that we need to let die (the things that ultimately steal peace). A stagnant, dead, branch is eventually cut off and put into a very non-pleasant fire if it doesn’t bear fruit. And the only ticket from that everyday-hellfire is by turning back to Jesus so that he can plant you anew.

So I urge you like I’ve recently been urged myself – grow in Jesus, be that delightful, soft, pliable piece of clay. Study the scriptures, lovingly help and be helped by your nearby brothers and sisters in Christ, and repent of those little things that build up like cholesterol, which eventually causes that non-rest-inducing heart attack.

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
Psalms 1:1‭-‬3 NKJV

Breathe

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Johan Creative Writing

When silence reaks and the walls whisper,
breathe.
When the lights die and your instruments splinter,
breathe.
When your flowers rot and your eyes decay,
breathe.
When your nails split and your mercies fray,
breathe.
When the rocks melt and your feet sting,
breathe.
When you feel forgotten and you drown within,
breathe.
When the winds howl and your bones crack,
breathe.
When your peace is gone and you’re under attack,
breathe –
for when you breathe in tiny, hope-filled breaths,
you’re surely moving towards abundant joy and life, not death.