He is Risen!

He is Risen!

Watercolour

7" x 10"

27 March 2016

40 minutes

I painted the above from an online picture and the cover of a children's book, "The Story of Easter". I believe that the original artist should be John Hayson. I found the picture encouraging as it illustrated that an initially sinful woman such as Mary Magdalene could be justified by Jesus and unified with God through Christ's resurrection, and was even a key eyewitness to this event!

The past few weeks have been very busy, and honestly my spiritual walk has not been at its peak. I've been struggling with old sinful habits which I would have hoped to overcome by now. The sanctification process can be a demoralising and painful experience. Thank God for His great mercy in sending His son Jesus to die on the cross for us, enabling true and complete victory over sin evidenced by Christ's resurrection, which I am particularly thankful for this Easter.

There are many accounts on Jesus's resurrection in the Bible, but for this post I have decided to focus on John 20, which sets out as follows:

"The Empty Tomb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

The miracle of Christ's resurrection is truly remarkable as it showcases God's amazing power (to overcome death), plans (which were quite unexpected) and grace (to save a nation of unworthy people and justify us to His presence).

1. Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene even though she was a woman and would not be treated as a trustworthy witness in that generation. Yet He chose to use her to spread the good news of His resurrection to the disciples. This was because she waited for Him and sought Him with all her heart. As background, Jesus had to drive 7 demons out of Mary previously and she had thereafter chosen, with her free will, to follow and serve Jesus as a disciple. This event was, to me, a big encouragement that those who love God and choose to follow God will grow in understanding. It also illustrates that God will also continue to use women for His ministry and relates to them as they were created - as equal reflectors of His image. We should therefore seek to adopt a spirit like Mary, seeking God with all of our hearts, so that He will show Himself more to us and use us for His greater glory.
2. Jesus appeared to His disciples to send them to continue His work and empower them with the Holy Spirit. There is life in the breath of God (as God breathed life into Adam in Genesis), and as the disciples were empowered with the Holy Ghost with the authority to share the gospel, so are we, from our conversion, given the tools of life-giving knowledge and love to carry out the Great Commission. Easter would be meaningless if we keep this joyful news to ourselves. Instead, we must always remember that we exist as peace-keepers to draw the world to God so that they too can have everlasting life and be justified in God's glorious and wonderful presence.
3. Jesus appeared to Thomas, who was only able to believe after He saw Jesus and the proof of resurrection with his own eyes. While Jesus still graciously granted salvation to him, he said that "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed". This is because our faith is true not because of the brilliance of our minds, our eyes and/or our reasoning ability, but because of the innate quality of whom we trust in. Thus, those who do not rely on their own strength but are able to trust the truth of God's greatness and goodness are truly blessed. I remember a quiet time book which I read which talked about a woman greatly loving and trusting a cheating scum, and contrasting that with her subsequently loving and trusting a good and stable man after her initial failed relationship with the scum. Was the quality of her relationship dependent solely on her level of trust? No, it was in the inherent qualities of the guys whom she trusted. Similarly, our faith in God is only meaningful because of the inherent qualities and goodness of our great and glorious creator! How blessed are we if we are able to maintain strong and persistent faith in Him!
4. Jesus' resurrection is key to our faith. Jesus is shown to be the true son of God as He was able to overcome death, and is worthy of our praise and glory. It also illustrates that God will keep all His promises and that we will be empowered to overcome death if we follow Jesus. With such power available to us, we can be assured that we will be able to overcome sin (and death) as long as we stay equipped with the full armour of God.

In addition to the above, have been reflecting a lot on my spiritual walk lately and wanted to share the following poem which I've written (based on some of the struggles I've been facing):

The Devil’s Lies

The Devil lies to me each day

In a very subtle worldly way

He tells me material things are good

That they will help to boost my mood

But these are things which fade away

My God would rather that I pray

Why look to things that fade to dust?

Seek heavenly gifts that will not rust

The Devil suggests I compromise

To indulge in the sins of my eyes

To entertain that sinful thought

After all, I will not be caught

However, when I start to sway

I realised I have turned away

From God to enjoy worldly sin

My heart’s been corrupted from within

The Devil tells me that I need

Worldly success to be complete

A slim body, power, popularity

Gifts and skills for security

But when I look to these not God

I detract from my spiritual walk

I end up with envy or with pride

And realise I’ve been taken for a ride

The Devil suggests life is unfair

He tells me that God does not care

He whispers a “better, happier” way

That God should have provided for my day

I end up doubting God’s great plans

I then complain and make demands

And afterwards realise I’ve been a brat

And beg for God to take me back

The Devil suggests that I should keep

What I have to provide for my need

He causes me to worry and fear

That I have insufficient for life here

When requests are made for some support

I do not give because I hoard

My worldly things I start to hide

Until I remember God does provide

The Devil tells me I have my own story

My life is not solely for God’s glory

He tells me to spend much of my time

On things which are not worth a dime

To make frivolous and worldly choices

And partake in endless indulgences

I lose my time on things so fake

Until God shows me my mistake

Without the full armour of God

This battle just cannot be fought

The Devil speaks but he tells lies

That are only clear with spiritual eyes

When the Devil tells me to disobey

I will not seek for things my way

But I will close my eyes and pray

And trust that God will show His way

Hope the above helps in your spiritual journey and in the battle against the lying and deceitful Devil! May we continue to overcome (the already-defeated) Satan with God's everlasting power!

Jesus' Temptation

Jesus' Temptation
Acrylic on Canvas
50cm x 50cm
2 hours

I have not posted in awhile. I have been so distracted trying out all sorts of other alternate art mediums, as well as focusing on work and music, so I have regretfully not focused on this ministry as much as I would have liked. Please pray for me to be able to stay focus and continue painting passionately to share the gospel!

Anyway, I painted this artistic impression of a painting that I found online. This depicts Jesus’ testing in the desert, and is meaningful to me because I personally struggle in resisting the devil and am very inspired by Jesus’ strong testimony!

The temptation of Jesus in the desert is detailed in Matthew and Luke, and noted in Mark:

Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and nights he was hungry. The devil came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Then the devil left him.

These are my thoughts and applications:

1.       The devil is a liar and is completely untrustworthy. Time and again he tries to tempt us to follow his way our way, against God’s instructions and divine laws, by making us doubt that God has the best plans for us. This happened in the Garden of Eden, and it happened to Jesus when he was weak and vulnerable in the desert. There is no telling when he may attack us, and we have to be constantly vigilant as well as in tune to scripture in order to be able to identify and resist his attacks.

2.       The devil tempted Jesus in 3 ways.

a.        Physical needs and desires: The devil knew that Jesus was hungry. He knew that Jesus had the power to turn stone into bread, and enticed him to do so. However, Jesus did not give in. While it is not wrong in itself to satisfy his desire for food, Jesus chose not to do so because he had been led by the Holy Spirit to the desert to fast (and not to feast). Jesus was experiencing the fullness of humanity and was withholding His divinity during this period. Thus, while it may seem totally harmless to want to satisfy a physical desire that we have, there is a God-glorifying time for everything. As such, we should follow Jesus’ example to resist satisfying our human wants (even if we have the means to satisfy them), if acting on satisfying them is not God-glorifying. For example, it was not God-glorifying for Jesus on a fast in the desert to listen to the devil and create food for himself to eat during the fast. Likewise for us, it would not be God-glorifying to spend our free time on pornography, on prolonged mindless entertainment that has no value to God’s kingdom, on pre-marital sex, on stealing food to satisfy hunger etc. Jesus’ example moves us to focus on the eternal kingdom instead of our physical needs and desires by assuring us that God and His word is enough.

b.       Miracles and testing: The devil tempted Jesus to test God’s faithfulness by jumping off a cliff, assuring Jesus that God would carry Him up as He is the son of God. However, Jesus rightly responded that we should not test God. In our context, this would mean not praying conditional prayers such as “God if you love me can you please show me ___” or “God please do ___ if you love me” or “God if you do ___ I will believe in you”. Our key to the heavenly kingdom is not through witnessing God’s miracles but through faith expressed in love. As such, these tests and demands for miracles in our lives are not from God but originate from the devil. For if we make such requests, we are doubting God’s unconditional love and perfect plans and the sovereignty of His ways above ours.

c.         Power, possessions and pride: The devil tried to seduce Jesus by offering Him all of the splendor of the world if Jesus worshipped him, in the hope of distracting Him from God’s greater plans and purposes. However, Jesus chose God above all of this – even though He knew that would lead Him to the cross. This resulted in Him being exalted beyond measure and seated at the right hand of God’s throne. How often do we choose to worship material possessions and power over God? How often do we choose to satisfy our pride over bringing glory to God’s kingdom? As seen from this testing, the devil is more than able to quote scripture in his attempts to seduce us. However, if the underlying desire that we seek to satisfy relates to power, possessions and pride as opposed to solely on building the glory of God’s kingdom (regardless of our earthly standing), our desires are NOT biblical and we may have unknowingly been seduced. This may manifest itself in many ways. Do we compare ourselves with others and wish to have more talents or slimmer bodies or a better paying job or greater popularity or more recognition? Do we enjoy reading scripture passages suggesting that God will grant worldly prosperity to his faithful followers? If so, we may not be looking at the entire bible in context. If we crave anything other than God, we need to relook our inner desires and remember that we are to worship only Him. 

3.      The importance of understanding and applying scripture: The devil was able to quote scripture as well, and this makes me realize the importance of understanding the whole context of scripture in order to fully know how each verse is to be properly applied. I realized that there is no shortcut to this but a serious dedication to God’s word with God’s people. Having DG group sessions where biblical wisdom is shared, as well as daily personal quiet time, has personally helped me in the process of understanding God better. The other learning point was that the devil can be defeated through scripture. I had experienced this firsthand myself when I struggled with severe pride issues and had printed out bible verses on pride out to help me overcome them. I realized that I was very empowered by these verses (through my recurrent attacks) and that re-reading these verses would help to realign my heart towards God.

4.      Affirmation of Jesus’ humanity and God’s ministry: That Jesus could be tempted and fully resisted temptation showed how He was fully Man and God at the same time. This is very encouraging for He will be always able to understand us, and is also able to empower us with His strength and wisdom to resist the devil if we walk close to Him!

May we continue to grow in Christ-likeness and walk in God’s glory!

Christmas - the Birth of Jesus

Christmas - the Birth of Jesus
Watercolour
7 x 10
25/12/15
30 minutes

It has been a more restful season at work for the last few weeks (thanks to God's blessings!), but regretfully there has just been so much other stuff going on that I have not been able to focus on Paint for Christ as much as I would like. But thank God for giving me the time and inspiration to do a simple piece for Christmas this year! I put this piece together after some inspiration from a few online images; am still working on developing my own original pieces (so that I properly respect the work of other artists), please bear with me as I slowly develop my skills in this area.

The main accounts of Jesus' birth in the New Testament is set out in Matthew and Luke; I've reproduced the account in Luke 2:1-20 (NIV) as follows:

"The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

 

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

The following separately sets out the extracts on Jesus's birth from Matthew 1:18-25 KJV:

^"18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

²⁰ But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. ²² Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ²³ Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

²⁴ Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: ²⁵ And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus."

My reflections on the above extracts this Christmas is as follows:

1. The Miracle of Christmas. Christmas is a true miracle. It is a reminder that nothing is impossible with God. The very birth of Jesus through virgin Mary is symbolic of this. As Jesus came as a perfect sacrifice to save us from our sins, in order for Him to be truly free from the curse of Adam and Eve (who had fallen and had a sinful nature within them and their descendants), He came down as the son of God, reborn from the Holy Ghost, fully Man at the same time, into our world to free us from our slavery to sin. The salvation of Mankind is a huge miracle, a gift that was difficult to comprehend, and now that we have been blessed by the benefit of God's wisdom set out in the Bible, we should love and appreciate this free gift and glorious miracle which changes and reforms lives, and pray for continued love, faith, wisdom and strength of character to be able to live out a life that is transformed and pleasing to God!
2. Trust in the Lord. It is difficult to fully understand and comprehend God's plans at all times. But we need to constantly pray for faith to be able to be obedient to His commands. A great illustration is the testimony of Mary and Joseph through this. During their time, it was unheard of for a virgin to be pregnant. For Mary to have accepted this pregnancy obediently (she would surely have been subject to much gossip), and for Joseph to have accepted the truth and Mary as his wife, was a huge act of faith. Furthermore, they were called away from their home through the census, had to travel miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem (during Mary's pregnancy), and had to dwell in Bethlehem without good accommodation. This was not a smooth and effortless journey, but one which required much trust, faith and obedience. May we continually pray for faith through the trying periods of our lives so that we can be obedient to God's perfect plans!
3. The Humility of Christ's Birth. Christ had a humble birth. He came into a world where there was no room for him. He was born and placed in a manger because there were no guest rooms available at the inns. He was visited by shepherds, and subsequently some wise men, not the kings of the land. He was not born in a palace, and although He was the greatest king, He did not have a luxurious life. This is not what we, in our prideful and fallen world, are used to. We are often taught from young to crave and respect and worship power characterised by strength, worldliness and abundance, not to be servant leaders as Christ Himself was. But He came to serve us and not to be served, and Christmas is a great reminder to realign our lives and principles towards being humble servant-leaders, just as Christ himself was from the very moment of His birth.
4. God's Timely Plans. Luke sets out the account of God's timeliness of events. The timing of the census, the hard heart of Herod and his evilness, and the messages sent to Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men through the angels, all enabled the prophecies set out in the Old Testament to be met and fulfilled in their own time. This is a reminder that we should always focus on God's perfect timing, not our own, as His plans are greater than our comprehension and He knows far better what is the best for us. This may be trying and difficult but may we always look to God for the faith to trust and obey and believe.
5. The Heart of God's Plans. The heart of God's plans through Christ is salvation through His perfect sacrifice and example, and this is a beautiful gift that we often do not appreciate enough. We often do not know what it means for Christ to have come fully as Man, to have been rejected and despised by His creation. Coming down to earth is an act of true sacrifice and vulnerability which was founded in love; He allowed Himself to serve us fully and be hurt by us, and is fully able to completely empathise with us in each moment of rejection and darkness. Yet we often turn away from Him and indulge in our senseless worldly pleasures and sins. This is something that hurts Him greatly, and out of love and appreciation for His gift, we should avoid such sinful behaviour and look towards Him in thanksgiving and love instead.
6. Worship Christ & Spread the Good News. The birth of Christ is a glorious event. The Lord called to the shepherds to this event; angels were signing of the glories of His birth and the shepherds later went on to spread the good news. For this is good news; we have been saved through His precious sacrifice! Thus we should work to spread the good news to the people around us!
7. Make Room in Our Hearts for God. In this fallen world, Christmas is often an over-commercialised event; coupled with the bonus season, it is often a time of endless extravagance and gifts that focus on self and loved ones, but not enough on God (if at all). But we should not be intoxicated by possessions (or distracted by worldly things) - rather, we should intoxicate ourselves in Christ's presence and shower the world around us with the same type of love which Christ gave - love founded on compassion, empathy, mercy and justice.

Merry Christmas 2015!

Victory on the Cross

Victory on the Cross
Oil on Canvas
9" x 12"
11/09/15
1 hour

This is my first oil painting, and is one of my favourite paintings to date. I chose to paint this image of Christ’s death (with His spirit leaving Him) from a picture that I found online, as it meant so much to my faith.

Further to passages setting out Christ’s betrayal, torment and mocking, Matthew 27:45-55 (NIV) sets out the account of Christ’s death as follows:

“The Death of Jesus

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.”

Christ’s death (and His subsequent resurrection, marking victory over death) is the hallmark of the Christian faith. Since the fall of Man through Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, the whole of Mankind have been cursed with sin. In order to be reunited with our just and righteous God, Man had to be restored to righteousness. In the old testament times, animal sacrifices were used as an illustration of what was needed to bridge this gap; after Christ came as the perfect sacrifice, our relationship with God is restored through our love for, belief in and obedience to Christ.

I used to struggle with this concept deeply as a non-believer. I used to wonder, why would God make an imperfect creature such as Man, doomed for damnation, to be salvaged through such a cruel method involving a completely innocent human sacrifice? However, now, after being blessed with God’s grace and having been enlightened, it means so much to be able to share my new insights on the meaning of this picture to me:

1.     Free will. The story of our salvation with Christ begins with free will. God graciously granted free will to Man, which he created as a relational being in His image. What was valuable to God was for Man to choose to exercise our will freely to conform to His word, to be a family with Him in the kingdom of His righteousness. However, Man fell away from God and continuously exercised free will for ungodly purposes. Even those who loved God deeply would often fall from grace. After the fall, nobody, on their own strength, was able to exercise free will in a manner fully pleasing to God.

2.     God is righteous and just. There are consequences for the ways we choose to exercise our free will. There is so much open sharing about God’s love, but an equally important aspect of God’s character that is less shared about is His just and righteous nature (and the anger and wrath that often follows from this). As Psalms 9:8 (NIV) states: “He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity.” To be judged before such a righteous God is truly a scary thought. When I was a non-believer, I used to have long debates on God’s “righteousness”. I didn’t question the existence of sin (which is rampant), but questioned why the Christian God was such a bloodthirsty God, demanding the sacrifice and blood of perfect innocent animals (and subsequently Jesus) as penalty for sin. While I recognized that it would otherwise be our blood which needs to be the price, since He makes the laws, I felt that a practical way was for exceptions to be made, without blood having to be shed. For what did the poor animals (and Jesus) do to deserve punishment for our transgressions? But as I matured in my faith I realized that these systems were in place because God cannot compromise on His perfect standards and wanted us to recognize the severity of sin. God demanded animal sacrifices as an illustration on the severity of sin and the holiness of God, and Christ, the ultimate sacrifice, was a gift of God taking our place Himself to bear the rightful punishment of our sins.

3.     God loves us. God is a deeply relational being, and wants nothing more than to relate to each of us personally. But that is not all. Spending time together is just one aspect of love. Love also requires an aspect of vulnerability, of sacrifice. To love is to be open and to allow ourselves to be hurt. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (ESV).  Jesus was God, but He came down to the world as a Man, fully vulnerable, to reach out to us and love us. He could have stayed in heaven, but He did not. He came down to be with us. He opened Himself to us. He was stung by rejection. He was humiliated and hung up on the cross. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” 1 John 3:16 (ESV). God loved us THIS much, to come down as a Man, to be mocked and humiliated and rejected and betrayed subsequently, all for our sake.

4.     Christ is the intersection of God’s love and His justice. Christ came to take our sins away, and is the perfect intersection between God’s love and justice. It may be difficult for us to acknowledge this, but we are horrible sinners, each and every one of us, and we all deserve God’s wrath. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV). Christ was God. He did nothing wrong. “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 (ESV) “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV). “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 (ESV).

5.     Christ’s Sacrifice is Necessary. John 3:14-15 (NIV) states that “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” Jesus had reached out to Nicodemus using a passage in the Old Testament (Numbers 21:5-9), where the Lord sent venomous snakes to punish the Israelites for their incessant complaints in the desert. When Moses interceded on their behalf, God instructed Moses to make a bronze replica of a snake and raise it above the camp on the pole. Those who were bitten would be healed if they looked at it and acknowledged their guilt and expressed faith in God’s forgiveness and power. Likewise, Jesus had to be crucified (i.e. lifted up), and His death would form a necessary part of God’s salvation plan. Such salvation is independent on any works or righteousness on our part, and is based on full dependence on God’s free gift to us. That of course does not mean that we are not to do good works – rather, we are saved by Christ for good works, and not saved by ourselves by good works. God was victorious through Christ’s death. The battle against Satan was won through Christ’s death on the cross, and our victory over sin has been secured through Christ.

6.     Christ was obedient onto death; we are to ‘take up the cross’ and follow Him. “Even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:8-10 (NLT). Christ was afraid, but He was obedient and endured. Ultimately, He saved us from the penalty of our sins, and was exalted beyond measure. As believers, we should follow suit in Christ’s example as God only has the best plans for us. As stated in Matthew 16:24-27(NIV): “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” As seen in the foregoing passages, a true disciple of Christ is one that does not deny Him, but instead denies themselves (i.e. their sinful human nature) to follow Him. This means that as Christians, we should walk in His path, led by His spirit, fully obedient to God’s directions as Christ himself was. There are eternal consequences to our decisions, and we are wise if we choose to follow the footsteps of our saviour who has redeemed our souls with His own blood. There are times where it will be difficult, where life may seem unfair (i.e. Jesus’ death was through no fault of His own). But if we choose to be obedient to God, we can become great tools which He uses to accomplish His glory for His kingdom and people!

7.    Eternal Consequences and Rewards. Christ is victorious over death and over sin; even if our passage on earth is daunting and challenging (as earth is a sin-filled place full of imperfections), we can expect eternal rewards for our obedience to him. Revelations 21:9-26 sets out the following vision of John:

“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.  The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

The above account illustrates the eternal glory that awaits those who are obedient to God’s words; in contrast, on the day of judgment, for those who do not follow Christ, it is written that “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelations 20:15 (NIV). There, “…[t]hey will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelations 20:10 (NIV).

For God had created the heavens and earth, and had loved us so much that He had reached out to Mankind repeatedly and had called us to repentance to His truth. He had even come down to earth to die for our sake, to bridge the gap between His righteousness and His love, so that we may be able to stand with Him in His presence. But those who choose to remain willfully blind and/or deaf to His love, call, justice and truth will not be able to join Him in eternal glory after the first death, but will be forever separated from Him for eternity. To be in a world without the presence of God eternally is indeed a terrifying thought.

Which choice will you make?

8.     Prayerfully Seeking God. When I was a non-believer, I found it difficult to believe or “buy into” the truth of God’s word because this was only one of the many “possible truths” out there in view of the multiple religions worldwide. I always believed that there was one ultimate truth (that we would be stupid not to follow/acknowledge), but had a difficulty discerning what the ultimate truth was. However, as I was sharing my struggles, one of my Christian friends told me to simply pray about it if I was sincerely seeking the truth. For Jeremiah 23:13 (NIV) promises us that “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” So I did. God did not answer my prayer immediately – there was no instant enlightenment. Rather, He brought me through a really painful process that stretched over more than a year, which made me realize that He is real and which spoke to me in a way nothing else could. If anyone is struggling with difficulties in accepting the Christian message but believes that it could be the ultimate truth, I urge you to pray sincerely with all of your heart. Because these prayers can work wonders!