MEAT FOR MATURITY – DISCIPLESHIP

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Psalms 34:18 (NLT) Although we are citizens of heaven, we still become brokenhearted at times. Our spirits still get crushed at times. But God encourages us that he is close to the brokenhearted. He doesn’t say that we shouldn’t be brokenhearted, as if we are always triumphant, but rather he is with us. This reminds us of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:4: “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” But God doesn’t just remain close to the brokenhearted; he also rescues us when we are crushed. (Note: there is no real difference between “brokenhearted” and “crushed spirit” in this verse. It is Hebrew poetic parallelism; the writer states the same idea twice with different words.) There are many ways in which he may rescue us. Under the New Covenant, he may not rescue us Continue Reading →

Do you ever feel like you want some close spiritual friends you can take off your mask with and open up to? Are you feeling a hole in your spiritual life where spiritual friends should be? We were designed to have close spiritual friends in mutually edifying relationships where we can reveal our true selves and be channels of God’s grace. The New Testament refers to this as fellowship; the Greek word is koinonia, which literally means participation. What does the New Testament teach about fellowship? One of the principles we observe in the Apostle Paul’s life is that we should support one another, especially in troubled times. This is stated plainly in Galatians 5:2: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (ESV). This implies that we actually let other people know what our burdens are! Think about how often we don’t do this. How often do Continue Reading →

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” Psalms 34:8 (ESV). When we taste God we find sweetness for our souls. The word “good” might be the best word to describe God’s nature. What does it mean to be good? Here are a couple of definitions from biblical resources. Strong’s dictionary uses these words to define it: beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, fine, glad, graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, loving, merry, pleasant, precious, sweet. The Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew dictionary uses these words to define good: kind, acceptable, joyful, vigorous, be pleasant, delightful, delicious, sweet or savoury. These words do a great job of describing God. This is what we “bite” into when we taste God. We also find this idea in 2 Pet. 1:3 which says that we are partakers of the divine nature. The Lord’s Supper is an experience of tasting the good flesh and blood of Christ. Continue Reading →

Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. Psalms 34:5 (NIV). Those who keep their gaze on the Lord will find that their lives will shine with the Lord’s radiance. In other words, we shine our light, reflect God’s beautiful light, when we keep our focus on him. This is a privilege he gives to his people. We find a vivid illustration of this gift in the life of Moses. When he went up on Mt. Sinai and beheld the Lord, his face began to shine so much that when he came back down the people were afraid of the radiance (Exodus 34:30) so he ended up putting a veil over his face. 2 Corinthians 3:18 draws on this story and explains that believers “with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of Continue Reading →