Bible Shorts

Just a quick note to say that updates are coming, but also to link a very interesting interview on the BBC between a Jew, a Muslim and a Christian;

According to the Very Rev. Colin Slee, Christians who say that they worship a different God to Muslims are blasphemers. When asked if Christians worship the same God as Jews and Muslims, he says; "Those who say that we don't and who therefore damn others, are I believe assuming something of the nature of God's own ability to judge between people and thereby are in some ways acting quite blasphemously".

There's no doubt that Christians do worship the same God as the Jews, but I respectfully suggest he looks at the origins of the Islamic deity and see that he is not the Jehovah God of the Bible.

It's odd, I've never been called a blasphemer before!

Here is the article for you to check it out yourself.

I found this very interesting article while browsing the internet today. It covers a very interesting subject but as I read the last few paragraphs, one question kept coming to my mind; "AM I READY?".

The introduction says; "Food for thought. While the Christian worlds seems to love to argue when the ENTIRE church will be raptured as the church teaches that the ENTIRE church is the bride, did you ever consider that there will be a pre-tribulation rapture but ONLY THE BRIDE who PREPARED herself and had her LAMP BURNING was counted WORTHY to escape the tribulation but the "foolish" and "lukewarm" Christian was not ready and missed the GREAT WEDDING?? Could this be the message of the parable of Yeshua/Jesus in Matthew 25??

Don't you think that it is important to KNOW who the BRIDE of Christ is, what her spiritual characteristics are and what her role is in the Kingdom of heaven ????

Below is part IV of the article from our brother in the newsgroup".

This could be the most important thing you read this week!

The title of this Short isn't a question asked of mere mortals but a questrion asked of Jesus during a time when His disciples were frightened for their lives.

In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus has told the disciples that He intended to cross the sea; "Let us go over to the other side" He said. When they were part of the way across, a massive storm came upon the boat such that water was already getting into the boat and it was filling up.

I guess you don't have to be a sailor to understand that this is not good, yet where was Jesus? He was asleep!?

Sometimes we can be so overcome with that which terrorises us that we find ourselves saying with the Psalmist in Psalm 13; "How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? ".

It seems at times that we're alone, and that things are getting so bad that we can see the end is in sight! As the boat was filling up, the disciples were able to guess how long it would be before the sea which they were riding on would become their grave.

So the disciples managed to wake Him up (what a situation to be in, where you have to wake up the Lord!) and He rebuked the wind and the waves. The word 'rebuke' here means "to tax upon, that is, censure or admonish; by implication forbid: - (straitly) charge, rebuke.". It's almost as if Jesus was telling the storm "Come on, leave them alone! You're frightening these poor lads! Now behave and stop being so naughty!".

Then when the storm ceased, He said "Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?". Like huh!? Lord, couldn't you see the storm!? Look, there's still water IN the boat which is much better OUT of the boat!

But the questions are serious. As I go through the things which are causing me concern right now, which are making my days dark and my confidence vanish. When I have nobody to turn to because my 'friends' are either unable to unwilling to help, and I shout to the Lord and say to Him "Where are you!? Can't you see I'm drowning!?", He asks me "why are you afraid?".

Why should I be afraid. Jesus clearly said to the disciples "Let us go over to the other side". You know what happens when Jesus (God) says 'Let'? Something happens! They would have gotten across the sea of a massiv giant squid from Mars arose out of the water and crushed the boat. It was the Lord's will that they should get across.

If you are living in the promises of God, you are safe and He will make sure you get to your destination.

But to believe that, I need to answer that other question "How is it that you have no faith?".

How did Jesus get to fall asleep? Surely, if you're in the presence of someone who knows everything, made everything, has command over everything (ie, the Son of God), then you wouldn't let Him go to sleep on you?

Any relationship or friendship where there is little to no engagement will 'fall asleep' (and don't I know that feeling all too well!). If even one person in a friendship decides not to engage the other, then the friendship will decay. It may be there in theory, but in practice, it's as good as asleep.

I need to ask myself if I'm so caught up in doing what I think I need to do that I have allowed my faith to sleep. Have I allowed that work of Sovreign power in my life to nod off as I administer to the journey which Jesus has set for me?

In 2Timothy 1:6, Timothy is told to stir up that gift of God in his life. Don't let it sleep! Now I may be mixing metaphors here, but I believe that we can set sail in our lives on a command of the Lord and forget that it is His command that keeps us going.

But back to the storm, the Bible says that the disciples couldn't understand that "even the wind and the sea obey Him". Sometimes we don't take our problems to Jesus because we don't even imagine that He could do anything about it. This clearly shows that they expected Jesus to pitch in in bailing the water out of the boat, but His ministry was better to them.

You may be in a situation where it hasn't even crossed your mind that Jesus might be able to solve the problem and fix it 'good and proper'. You may not even have had time do disbelieve because the thought never came to you.

Well, here's a thought; Can Jesus fix your problem? It may even be your fault that you're in that situation, but Jesus can still fix you up.

They got to the other side.

(Mark 4:14-20)
In the passage above, Jesus explains to His disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Sower.

The parable speaks of a sower who sows seed. The seed represents the the message of the Gospel of Jesus or 'the word' and the different kind of ground on which the seed lands represents different responses to the word.

In the last part of this brief look at what we can learn from Jesus Christ's explanation of the Parable of the Sower, we read of the seed that falls on good ground in Verse 20; "And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold".

The good soil is unlike all the other ground mentioned in this parable. It is;

• Not exposed
  The people represented by this ground are not walking according to the lusts of their fleshly hearts that put them in rebellion against God. Satan doesn't have opportunity to steal from the people represented here.



• Soft and not shallow
  The people represented by the good ground are willing for the word of God to go deep into their lives, to enrich their lives and to take root in their lives. These have more than an intellectual ascent to the message of the Gospel, these take the message and put it into practice in their lives and allow God to rule over them.



• Not caught up with 'other things'
  The good soil represents people in whom the word is free to grow, unhindered by the issues that surround them. These people are concerned with the things of God and not caught up in building wealth or chasing what they feel are the things that need chasing. In the lives of these people, the word is not choked.

So, while we read of the other types of ground resulting in theft of the seed, malnourishment and choking of the plants, what is the result of having the seed fall on good ground?

Fruitfulness. When the word is stolen from your heart, that's the end of the story. When the word dies because of tribulation, that's the end of the story. When the word is choked because of the 'more important things' in your life, that's the end of the story. When your heart accepts the word, allows it to take root and rule in your life....... that's the start of the story.

If you're looking for purpose and want to have a positive impact on the lives of those around you, then allow the word of God to get deep into your heart and you will not only find that you can have compassion for your friends, but also a deeper love for those with whom you would have thought you had little in common.

If you are a Christian and you are wondering why there seems to be nothing happening in your life, take a look at the four types of ground mentioned here and the Holy Spirit to show you where He wants to make changes in your life to make you more like the 'good ground'.

(Mark 4:14-20)
In the passage above, Jesus explains to His disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Sower.

The parable speaks of a sower who sows seed. The seed represents the the message of the Gospel of Jesus or 'the word' and the different kind of ground on which the seed lands represents different responses to the word.

This time, I'm looking to see what can be learned from the explanation of the parable as given by Jesus Christ in Verses 18 and 19; "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful".

The seed is small enough to fall among the thorns, to fall between the branches and the thorns to reach the ground and so can it be in our lives, that we are so busy, it's a blessed miracle that the word ever reaches us at all!

Crows don't steal this word from the ground because the thorns protect the ground. The thorns surround this ground and give it shade. Likewise, when such busy people as are depicted by this type of ground receive the word, Satan doesn't need to come and steal the word from their hearts because the people have enough to keep them too busy for the word anyway.

We can work hard to build up around us the things we believe we need for a comfortable and secure life. Our desires are treated as indicators of what we need and so we follow them because if we feel fine, then we probably are fine, aren't we?

So many Christians live defeated lives because the word has become unfruitful in their lives and it's a danger that every Christian should take very seriously. The ground may be fertile, the conditions fine but the stuff that occupies our minds and keeps us going for that 'next big thing' will choke the word in our lives.

Note that the thorns don't choke the ground, but the word. And you may indeed feel fine! You may well feel that your're doing Ok because nothing is choking you....... But is there something choking the word of God and the execution of His purpose in your life?

(Mark 4:14-20)
In the passage above, Jesus explains to His disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Sower.

The parable speaks of a sower who sows seed. The seed represents the the message of the Gospel of Jesus or 'the word' and the different kind of ground on which the seed lands represents the different of responses to the word.

In this second part of looking at what we can learn from this parable's explanation as given by the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm looking at Verses 16 and 17; "In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away".

It's interesting to note that the people represented here are similar to those who are by the way side (see Part I).

In what way are they similar? They receive the word and they respond to the word, and they even rejoice for the word.

The seed in the previous verse wasn't received because it was taken away by Satan before it could take root. Here, we see that the seed cannot take root. The seed rests on this ground, but it doesn't get into this ground and so it's easily taken away.

We're told in Colossians 2:6-9 that as we have received Jesus (the Word of God) we should also walk in His life, His way and to do that, we must be rooted and built up in Him.

We need to have the word of God deep in us if we are to survive and last the Christian walk. I once heard a preacher talking about the difference between preference and conviction and this ground mentioned here in the Parable of the Sower talks of people for whom Jesus is a preference.

Unless you are grounded and rooted in the Word of God, that is you read it and get it into you and meditate on it, your faith will be like a building built on sand and when troubles come, it'll be washed away.

Just one final interesting note here in what Jesus says; Nowhere in the Bible do you read that when you become a Christian, your life will be all peachy and sweet, and here Jesus makes it clear that you can expect trouble because He says; "then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away". The planting of the seed in your life will bring trouble, trouble designed to take the seed away.

Where are you today? How deep is the seed of God's truth in your life and are you likely to see it washed away when trouble comes? Do you ever feel like blaming God and saying "Look, I'm following You so can't you cut me some clask here!?" before packing it all in?

Get deep roots, allow the word of God to dwell deep in your heart and you will be in good stead, safe from becoming the kind of ground that has a shallow intellectual ascent to the word of God, an ascent that soon lets go in times of trouble.

(Mark 4:14-20)
In the passage above, Jesus explains to His disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Sower.

The parable speaks of a sower who sows seed. The seed represents the the message of the Gospel of Jesus or 'the word' and the different kind of ground on which the seed lands represents the different of responses to the word.

Here, in this first part of looking at what we can learn from this parable's explanation as given by the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm looking at Verse 15; "These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them".

It is possible to be in such a state where our hearts are in such rebellion toward God that nothing He does can reach us. We can be so exposed to sin, we can so embroil ourselves in its passions and devices that when the Word of God reaches us, it has absolutely no effect at all because it is taken from us before we know it was even there!

The blame for someone having such a hard heart does not lie with Satan. He cannot be blamed for the world's problems, he cannot be blamed for your problems, he cannot be blamed for your lack of response to God's solution to sin.

We're told in Romans 2:22- that God's response to people who defiantly bathe in their own desires and live to fulfil their own lusts have been handed over to those lusts. Such people have taken what is God's and called Him a liar, so God has said "If that's what you want, then go and have your fill of it".

What possible effect can the word of God have on these people? You can see them in the church, when you tell them what the Bible says but before it gets time to begin to sink in, it's taken away from them and their intellect takes the place of faith.

And so we who rest on our own laurels must also be careful that we never reach that stage where God cannot speak to us because whatever He says gets taken away before we know its there. And it can happen; when we immerse ourselves in what may even seem harmless pursuits, we can be opening ourselves up to satanic ownership, where he, the destroyer, has easy access to us because we have exposed ourselves to clearly to his world and closed ourselves off from the Lord's will.

Sure, this parable may be talking of the response of a world that has not yet received the word of God, but Christians can also learn from what it says for although we may have already heard and responded to the word, each day we need more and each day we need a new response to what God is telling us.

You may be beside the road, where it's all happening, but are you hearing the truth and able to respond to it?