Christ-mas

Dec' 2024

Complete this Quiz on the celebrated birth of Jesus

1. Jesus was born in which town?

2. Where was it prophesied in the Old Testament as to where Jesus was to be born?

3. In which season (Spring, Summer, Autumn/Fall or Winter) was Jesus most likely born?

4. How many Magi 'wise men' were likely to have travelled from the East to see baby Jesus?

5. What does the term 'incarnation' mean?

6. Fill in the blanks: Jesus who is the Christ (our Messiah) is both the Son of ___ and the Son of ___"

7. Is it true that your best friend was born in a manger?

[Answers are at the bottom of this page].

Male and Female He created them…equal but not the same.

12 July 2024

[Warning: The following statements are Bible-based and therefore increasingly counter-culture.  The extent to which they clash with the reader's own worldview will depend upon to what extent he or she has been (mis)led by the powers and principalities controlling this world to subscribe to alternative worldviews, be they rooted in feminism, trans-ideology, spiritism, freemasonry, Darwinian evolution, humanism, or any other 'ism that runs contrary to the wisdom of God revealed from the heart of the Father through the holy scriptures, the Person of His Son - Jesus Christ (Yeshua) - and the mighty holy Spirit.  Be discerning, my friend - if nothing else, this is food for thought on a topic of importance.]

1. Men and women are 'wired' differently with design features (and idiosyncrasies) that the opposite sex can easily, and often, misunderstand. 

2. The success of a marriage depends largely on recognising each other’s inherent differences, understanding them as best we can, and not only accommodating them but enjoying them – differences that stem right back to how our original ancestors, Adam and Eve, were created.  Adam was formed from the dust of the earth, from clay, with a soul breathed into his body by God.  He was created in the image of God as a triune being (body, soul and spirit).  Eve was formed also as a triune being, but from the rib-bone of Adam – from under his arm for protection and close to his heart to love…which is where a woman must remain if she is to feel content and secure in her husband’s love.

3. All humans have been created with intellect, emotions, spiritual sensibilities and a capacity for choice (that we often call ‘free will’). A man’s soul is grounded in his intellect (his seat of logic and reason) whereas a woman’s soul is grounded in her heart-felt emotions (her feelings). Whereas a man tends to be focused on facts, a woman tends to be focused on how she feels, and how others might feel.   

4. Husband and wife are like two jigsaw pieces shaped differently by God to join one another in our walk of faith, hand-in-hand in holy matrimony through life’s puzzles with all its challenges and blessings. Feelings and facts are both important: in a relationship, any woman who ignores the facts presented, or any man who ignores or downplays his woman’s feelings is simply asking for trouble.  Be aware however that a woman will not care how many facts you know…until she knows how much you care…about her feelings. She needs to be loved and 'feel' loved – frequently reminded of that love, and often assured by her man that he is lovingly acting in her best interests.  

5. 1 Cor 11:7 –“Man is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man”: a) The happiness of a woman secure in her husband’s love reflects well on her husband. An unhappy wife makes for a rotten marriage and unhappy life; b)  A woman needs to feel loved and valued by her man (e.g. when she is having a bad-hair day, social media issues or an ugly mood), especially then!  He’s to be her spiritual covering and devoted husband; c)  A man needs his woman's trust and respect (especially when he has lost trust and respect from the world).  She’s to be his emotional covering and loyal wife; d)  Women fear abuse, neglect and abandonment; whereas men tend to fear emotional attacks, public disrespect and a loss of loyalty and trust from those he loves.

6. Eph 5:25 – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”: a)  A sign that a man is truly loving his wife and treating his family well – the success of his marriage and family life – is reflected in the demeanor and happiness of his wife. Does she sense his self-sacrificial love (as Christ loves the church) to her and her children?  Is he frequently reminding her and them of his love with gifts that hit the spot? Such is a woman's basic need to feel loved, that if her husband fails in this duty, she is tempted to look elsewhere for that love, in the wrong places - we men must overtly love our wife; b) Marriage is not a partnership but a merger:  when she hurts, he hurts; when she’s feeling happy, he’s happy; and when he’s successful in the world, she feels successful; c) A woman has a three-fold duty to her family – nurturer, emotional coverer and homemaker; d) Man has a three-fold duty to his family – servant-king (provider & protector), prophet (representing God to the family) and priest (representing the family to God); e) Man is the head of the house; whereas the woman is the heart of the home.

7. Eph 5:24 – “Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands”: a) A wife is to come under her husband's servant-king headship and authority, saying 'yes' to the man who loves her. This is made easier, of course, when the husband is doing his job. Getting into, and restoring, right relationship in marriage normally begins with the husband’s initiative and leadership. Women hunt for, and hook, a husband, but it’s men who pop the question. Likewise in disputes, men must be strong but also smart - thinking strategically in the protection of that which is precious - their God-given marriage and family.  A man should never go on both knees before a woman, but must get on one knee (to propose) and then again throughout his marriage to put things aright.  The way back up...is at first down.  He must exercise humility, masculinity and manhood - willing to say "sorry, honey - most of that was my fault - and I do love you", quick to put his part right, which makes it easier for his wife (as she again feels loved and safe) to soften and, with renewed trust and respect for him, respond by drawing near again in right relationship to her husband; b) The wife is the neck that not only supports the head, but points him this way and that, with her wise counsel and attention to what’s on the peripheral. A wise man will seek (not merely 'accept' but 'seek') the counsel of his wife in all important matters, before taking (with broad shoulders) prime responsibility for what’s jointly agreed; c) A two-headed marriage makes for a two-headed monster - trying to fit both husband and wife into the one pair of marriage pants will split it at the seams; d) And it's a stark reality that a mother’s maternal instincts will always grant her children's needs priority over the needs and wants of her husband.  Get used to it, chaps - it's instinctual, very powerful (such is a mother's love for her offspring) and something that any strictly rational mind might find difficult to understand, troubling (as a ‘bias’, 'double standard’ and ‘unfair’) and impossible to rationalize.  A mother is wired with an emotional bias in favour of her children – battle that if you must, men, but you do so at your peril.

8. Eph 5:21 – “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ”: a) As brother and sister in the Lord (fellow members of the Body of Christ), we are to “submit to one another”, yet in holy matrimony the man must not be delinquent (as Adam was when not intervening in the serpent’s wicked deception of Eve) but willing to take charge when need be – as the head, with his wife willing and able to submit to his loving headship, under his protective covering and protection, as he submits to the Headship of Christ;  b) Weak, unfaithful, unloving, self-doubting men make for unhappy women. Contentious, overly-anxious, untrusting, disrespectful women make for unhappy men;  c) A happy marriage will be grounded in the purposes of God, functioning in the comfort, wisdom and guidance of the holy Spirit, whereby 1 + 1 = 3.  Our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves - for Him to bring out the best in our marriage, we must acknowledge, depend and trust in Him.  Both spouses individually and together must seek God through the One sent from heaven to be the Light of the world - Jesus Christ, Son of the living God.  The holy Bible's account of Jesus shows us the Way, reveals to us important Truths and brings the Life-edifying power of God's love into our relationships and the fellowship of marriage; d) We are to resist pride, the temptation to rely on our own flaky wisdom & strength and resist the corruption that is in this world through lust.  It's through Jesus (the perfect Man and perfect Image of the invisible God) and His saving grace and truth that we enter into an edifying relationship with our Creator - a vertical relationship that improves all horizontal relationships, the most important of which is our marriage.

Our Role as Fathers

26 Mar 2024

Our Father God is paternal, and it is by participating in the Father’s paternity, in-Christ, that we learn to become good fathers – modelling our fatherhood (our ‘paternity’) on the distinct relation that the Father has with His Son.  We believers can enjoy the perfect fatherhood of God in spiritual relationship with Him by participating in the sonship of the Son.

And so, our first obligation as fathers is to know God and to faithfully obey and please Him (under the Lordship of Jesus Christ).

Our second obligation is to make God known to our family, which we do in three-part ministry:

1. As ‘prophet’, representing God to our family.  Take what is of God (His Word and His Wisdom) and make it known [1] – that your family might come to know, through you, God’s truth, righteousness, justice and love

2. As ‘priest’, representing our family to God.  Humbly and regularly lift up your wife and children to God in intercessory prayer [2]

3. As ‘king’, governing our family on behalf of God.  With the heart of a servant-king, bring into your family something of the godly governance and headship [3] of our Benevolent Ruler and King in heaven – ruling with justice and mercy [4] as you establish for them a covering of righteousness, protection, peace [5] and providence.

In Conclusion…

The Spirit brings “Life”, with Jesus being the “Way” to the Father who is our Destination. The mission of the Son and Spirit is to lead us to the Father, the personal conclusion of our journey.

The fatherhood of God is therefore both the Source and End of life’s course.  Everything comes from the Father and returns to the Father.

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” [6] Lead your family in this – mindful of the goodness and blessings of a fatherhood, sonship and Spirit-led devotion rooted in the purposes and glory of God – a trinitarian God.

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[1] “You shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul…You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deut 11:18-19)

[2] Along the lines of Job, who interceded for his children daily (Job 1:5).

[3] “The husband is the head of his wife [as] God [the Father] is the head of Christ” (1 Cor 11:3); a father must “manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way” (1 Tim4:4)

[4] Micah 6:8

[5] We are, for example, not to provoke our children, lest they become discouraged (Col 3:21)

[6] Matt 6:9

The Hebrew Patriarchs and their Examples of Fatherhood

26 Mar 2024

God chose Abraham to be the ‘father of our faith’ [1]. “I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” [2]  God’s promises to (and through!) Abraham were dependent on his willingness and ability to have his household keep “the way of the Lord”.  It was Abraham’s character and conduct in the home that commended him to God. 

Joshua also commanded his household in a patriarchal, God-honouring way: “Choose this day whom you will serve [said Joshua] …but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” [3]

“Lest they go into captivity”, [4] all children need their father’s faithful, instructive, loving discipline and protective covering.  And so to the feminists amongst us [5], patriarchy is not at all ‘toxic’ when, like with Abraham and Joshua, it’s faithfully centred in the fatherhood of God.

God considers the relationship between fathers and their children to be so important that He promises [6] to send [7] the prophet Elijah…[to] “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” [8]

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[1] Rom 4:16-17

[2] Gen 18:19

[3] Josh 24:15

[4] Deut 28:41

[5] Many of whom have had poor earthly fathers.

[6] in the last few words of the OT

[7] “…before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord”

[8] Mal 4:5-6 (NKJV)

The Holy Trinity (Part 4)

25 Mar 2024

All Three divine Persons share a common eternal essence (a divine substance) but have uncommon relations of origin:

• The Father has no origin.  He is neither generated nor begotten – He is unbegotten.

• The Son is, by the Father’s nature, generated of Him – He is begotten of the Father.

• The Spirit has, by the same nature, proceeded from the Father and the Son.

There would be no Son without the Father, but likewise, no Father without the Son.  The Son existed whensoever the Father existed; likewise, the Spirit. The Three are in essence co-equal and co-eternal, of one transcendent substance or essence, yet individually and relationally distinct.  Each of the Divine Three are personalised and distinguished by way of their unique, subsisting relations – both with each other inside the Trinity and also with us.

Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit.  Conversely, we are to pray to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit…involving all three Persons in our worship and devotions to the One true God.

The Holy Trinity (Part 3)

25 Mar 2024

God the Father

By eternal generation, the Father communicates to the Son:

a)      knowledge and understanding.  The Word is ‘the doctrine of the Father’ in Person.  The Father and Son, in the same divine life, know and understand each other in ‘mutual comprehension’;

b)      His entire Being (the fulness of His power, will, and goodness, etc);

c)      A power of action – the Father achieves what He does in common action through the Son; and

d)      His love – the Father takes absolute delight in His Son because He is His Father.

That which distinguishes the Father is His ‘Fatherhood’: first towards His Son, then (derived from that) towards all creation including humanity (rational creatures made in God’s image) and more specifically His children (through adoption).

For all humanity, fatherhood is the source of our personal identity:  The Greek word translated ‘family’ is ‘patria’, formed directly from ‘pater’ (Greek for ‘father’).  It’s from our Father above “that the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph 3:14-15), and it’s God’s will, here on earth, that a person is traditionally and primarily named and identified as son – or daughter – of a certain man.[1]

For all believers, “no one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29).  Our hope is rooted in not only the righteousness and blood of Christ, but in the adoption and fatherhood of God.  We are drawn, by His calling, into His presence through adoption, salvation and sanctification (Rom 8:14-16).  Our adoption is authored by the Father, modelled by the Son, and engraved into our hearts by the Spirit of God.

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[1] Not only in the Holy Bible do we see this done.  In many modern cultures, the term ‘son’ is part of a surname – e.g., Jacobson, Williamson, Watson…i.e., the ‘son of’.

The Holy Trinity (Part 2)

25 Mar 2024

God the Spirit [1]

We read in Lev 22:32 that “I am the Lord who sanctifies you”. We later read in 1 Cor 6:11 that “You are washed, you are sanctified through the name of Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Since we are sanctified by the holy Spirit, the holy Spirit is God.  And in 2 Thess 2:13, we read that “God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the Spirit which sanctifies and by faith in the truth”.  The holy Spirit is God.  He is also the holy Trinity’s communion of mutual love between the Father and the Son, and a love Gift promised to those who believe in the Son and are thereby adopted by the Spirit into the family of God. 

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[1] a.k.a. the ‘holy Spirit’ or ‘holy Ghost’ or the ‘Spirit of Christ’ or ‘Spirit of God’ or simply ‘Spirit’

The Holy Trinity (Part 1)

25 Mar 2024

Church tradition names three – Father, Son and holy Spirit – as the divine persons of a holy Trinity.  The God in whom we believe is One [1] and yet Three in One – an interpersonal God.

God the Son

God the Son (a.k.a. Son of God) is the Word and perfect image of the invisible God.  When talking to Philip, Jesus said [2] “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:9-10).  Jesus also declared “The Father and I are one” – a declaration of unity – not merely of mutual affection, but of unity, a unity of essence.

When Jesus gave Himself the most significant divine name “I AM”, it recalled what God said to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM.” In doing so, Jesus expressed His co-equality, eternity and divinity. The Son of God is (existentially) the great ‘I AM’ – eternally begotten of the essence of the Father.

Jesus also said, however, that “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28) and that “heaven and earth will pass away…[and] about that day and hour no one knows…but only the Father” (Matt 24:35-36).  Jesus is the incarnate Word (fully God) but also the Son of Man (fully man) and at his incarnation He emptied himself (temporarily) of much of his glory so as to be “born in human likeness” (Phil 2:7-8).  It was Jesus in His humanity (as Son of Man) who said that “The Father is greater than I” and Jesus in his divinity (as Son of God) who said that “The Father and I are one”.  Both are true.

[1] Deut 6:4.

The eternal Word made flesh - in the likeness of sinful flesh, yet without sin - perfectly human and perfectly divine.

25 December 2023

What a gr8 time of the year this is - Christ-mas! - our appointed time to celebrate the arrival on Earth of the eternal Son of the living God in the likeness of sinful flesh (yet without sin), conceived by the holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin, to come into this world to reveal to us the divine character and righteousness of God, to pay the ultimate price and penalty for our sins and then rise again (celebrated of course at Easter) to confirm His divinity and power over death.  After rising again (yes, death could not hold Him down), Jesus our Messiah then ascended (glorified) to heaven to be again with the Father, where He now intercedes for us that we might acknowledge our inherited sin nature, repent of any unbelief in Him (due to the folly of our human pride?) and by FAITH receive Him as our heaven-sent Saviour.

My best friend was indeed born in a manger.   Let's give glory these days to this Reason for the season, who is both perfectly human and yet perfectly divine - fully the Son of Man, Son of God and God the Son - to Him be all praise, honour, glory and power.

Happy birthday Jesus!   We look forward to your promised return whereby you will one day (soon?) gather up your true believers with a bodily resurrection and glorious rapture ahead of our marriage to you as our Prince of Peace, Lamb of God and Lord of Lords, where by holy matrimony we are joined forever in marital bliss and kingdom reign (see 1 Cor 15, 1 Thess 4, Rev 19,20, etc).  Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Answers to the Dec' 2024 Quiz

1.  Jesus was born in which town? Bethlehem, Israel.

2. Where was it prophesied in the Old Testament as to where Jesus was to be born? Micah 5:2

3. In which season (Spring, Summer, Autumn/Fall or Winter) was Jesus most likely born? Autumn/Fall (the shepherds were “living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks.” (Luke 2:8), and we can estimate when Jesus was born by counting backward from his death on Passover - Nisan 14 in the spring of the year 33 C.E. (John 19:14-16).  Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his three-and-a-half-year ministry, so he was most likely born in the early fall of 2 B.C.E. (Luke 3:23).

4. How many Magi 'wise men' were likely to have travelled from the East to see baby Jesus?  Even though only three gifts are mentioned (gold, frankincense and myrrh), it is almost certain that there were more than three Magi (including a military escort).

5. What does the term 'incarnation' mean?  The Cambridge Dictionary defines 'incarnation' as "a particular physical form or condition of something or someone that is changing or developing".  The Collins dictionary defines it in Christian Theological terms as "the assuming of a human body by the Son of God".  Scripturally, it is "the Word made flesh".

6. Fill in the blanks: Jesus who is the Christ (our Messiah) is both the Son of Man and the Son of God"

7. Is it true that your best friend was born in a manger?  That's true for me; is it also true for you?