Master or Mastered

You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am . . . . I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master . . .—John 13:13, 16

To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— “. . . for One is your Teacher, the Christ . . .” (Matthew 23:8).

Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.

“You call Me Teacher and Lord . . .”— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the wordsSavior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. “. . . though He was a Son,yet He learned obedience. . .” (Hebrews 5:8). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness of it—a relationship where all we know is that we are His to obey.

Koran book burning is not Christian

I came across an interesting article, of all places, from the Christian Institute in the UK. The Christian Institute exists for “the furtherance and promotion of the Christian religion in the United Kingdom” and “the advancement of education”.

The Christian Institute is a nondenominational Christian charity committed to upholding the truths of the Bible. They are supported by individuals and churches throughout the UK.

They believe that the Bible is the supreme authority for all of life and they hold to the inerrancy of Scripture. They are also committed to upholding the sanctity of life from conception. 

Here is the article by Colin Hart, Director of the Christian Institute:

In today’s news there is confusion over whether Pastor Terry Jones of Florida in the US will go ahead with his planned burning of Korans on the anniversary of 9/11.

Whether he does or he doesn’t, his Koran-burning idea is wrong, provocative and dangerous.

Like many, I am concerned about the growing influence of militant Islam. I am concerned that a militant Islamic belief in political domination is a threat to the liberty of us all. But the answer isn’t the burning of books.

If copies of the Koran are burned by those who claim to be ‘Christian’, will this encourage Muslims to read and consider the Bible? Hardly.

It will almost certainly make it more dangerous for Christians living in Muslim-majority countries. And our brave servicemen serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will also be put at greater mortal risk.

The Bible tells Christians: live at peace with all men, as far as it depends upon you. In a democracy we can debate, we can protest, and we can seek to persuade. But we must not deliberately provoke anger or violence.

The Koran-burning idea is Mr Jones’ and he must take the blame for that. But the media has handed him a global megaphone, and they must take the blame for that. Given the media storm, it is understandable that President Obama and General Petraeus spoke out.

I have no doubt that there are elements within the secular media who are secretly delighted that a “Christian Pastor” has made such a monumental error of judgment.

Mr Jones is an obscure and eccentric Pastor from a small church in one corner of the US. Yet the media has given him a worldwide platform and hardly missed an opportunity to call him an “evangelical” Christian almost every time.

Well, let me be very clear. Mr Jones’ Koran-burning plan is not consistent with the evangelical Christian faith that I –- and millions around the world –- follow.

We are in "bad" times and don't really know it!

We’re told, Don’t protest the Ground Zero mosque. Don’t burn a Koran. It’ll imperil the troops. It’ll inflame tensions. The “Muslim world” will “explode” if it does not get its way, warns sharia-peddling imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. 

Do you know when the “Muslim world” isn't ready to “explode”?

Our President says we are not at "war" with the Muslims. But are we?

As Christians, we are at war with anything that is against the God of Abraham, are we not?

But the Bible tells us that the battle is the Lord's. If we stay true to His word and trust Him, we have nothing to fear, not even fear itself.

Am I A Fountain Of Blessing?

John 4:13-14 (KJV) 

13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 

14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 

Jesus makes it clear that He is not talking about water in Jacob's well. Rather, He is making a contrast, you see. Today the crowds are going to the water holes of this world, seeking satisfaction. They also are constantly looking for the physical, not the spiritual satisfaction. But now Jesus has created a desire in this woman's heart for the spiritual water.

The picture our Lord describes here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to “be filled” ( Ephesians 5:18 ) and the sweetness of our vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of us as it has been given to us. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame— something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, we are to focus on the Source so that out of us “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life ( John 7:38 ).

We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you “will flow rivers of living water.” It is not a blessing that we pass on, or an experience that we share with others, but a river that continually flows through us. If we stay at the Source, closely guarding our faith in Jesus Christ and our relationship to Him, than, there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.

Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.