Leaving and Following.

In his account of the Gospel record, Dr Luke shares the incident in which the Lord Jesus, having resisted the temptations of the enemy; been rejected in Nazareth, where He had been raised; cast out a demon in Capernaum; healed the mother-in-law of Simon; and preached in the synagogue; was preaching at the shore of Lake Gennesaret. As the crowd pressed in on Him, He saw a couple of fishing boats drawn up on the beach while the fishermen were washing their nets. He got into one of them - that happened to belong to Simon - and asked him to put out a little way from the land. Then, having taught the people, He instructed Simon to "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4). Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.” The catch that they now took was so great that even with the other boat helping, the boats began to sink under the weight of the fish.

Simon was completely overcome, and "fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (v.8}. The Lord Jesus replied to Simon, and to James and John who were his partners: “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.”  And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him." (vs.10-11)

Perhaps we take too lightly the fact that the disciples "left everything and followed Him." This action involved at least two aspects, the leaving of their former life, and the realignment of their loyalty.

 

The Greek word translated as "leaving" is used in a variety of extreme situations, including the "putting away" of a spouse (I Corinthians 7:11-12; also "leave," v. 13), and even death. "And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up (same word) His spirit." (Matthew 27:50). This leaving implies a complete severing of a situation or relationship.

 

Furthermore, they "left everything". For Peter, James, John, and Andrew, this involved leaving a prosperous business; for Matthew, a prestigious position of wealth - in other words, their careers. Certainly each left their livelihood, security, training, possessions, relationships, hopes - everything! "So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:33).

 

Next, the disciples needed to restructure their lives and loyalties to those of Christ. The word "follow" implies a unity of purpose and direction. Jesus told the rich young ruler: "You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow (same word) Me" (Mark 10:21).

 

The Lord Jesus issues the same call to discipleship to each of us. Peter asked Him the question which we frequently ask. “Lo, we have left everything and followed You. What then shall we have?” (Matthew 19:27). The Saviour answered, "every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My Name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life." (v. 29).

How ready are you, am I, to leave everything and follow Him? That's a good question!

Exhorting one another

One of my favourite books in the Bible is the letter to the Hebrew disciples of Jesus - I suppose that, today, we would call them "Messianic Jews"! In that letter - the author of which remains anonymous (although my own thinking is that it was Barnabas!) - we read these words: "... exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.." (Hebrews 3:13).

The fascinating word rendered "exhort" (Greek para-kaleo) in that verse, elsewhere translated "comfort," "appeal," etc., literally means "call alongside."

 

For example, note II Corinthians 1:4: "[God] comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." Remember that the root of the word "comfort" is not the, "There, there. It will be better soon", of a mother to a small child, but is literally "with strength", that is "strengthen".Also look at Paul's appeal to Philemon. "I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose [spiritual] father I have become in my imprisonment." (Philemon 10). Such words as "desire," "entreat," and "pray" are also used.

 

However, the unusual importance of the word is emphasised by the fact that in its noun form (paraklétos) it is used as one of the titles of God the Holy Spirit. Jesus said: "But when the Counselor [paraklétos] comes, Whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, Who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to Me;" (John 15:26).

 

Thus, a disciple of Jesus who is "called alongside" to comfort a sorrowing friend, to beseech a person to do right, or to exhort him to useful action all in the name of the Lord Jesus is, in effect, performing the same type of service on the human level that the Holy Spirit Himself performs on the divine level. Further, these words would inform us that this type of service - whether done in the context of exhorting, or strengthening, or pleading - is designed specifically to prevent the one to whom he is "called alongside" from being "hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." And since this is a moment-by-moment danger to the unwary, the ministry of exhortation (or strengthening or entreating, as the need may be) is one which must be performed "every day, as long as it is called “today."

We Are Being Watched

I grew up in an age of "science fiction". As a young boy, I was ready to believe that we humans, on planet Earth, were being watched by alien creatures from a far-distant planet. Thankfully, I did "grow up", and no longer accept that proposition!

However, I have come to realise that I am "being watched"! Not by extra-terrestial beings, but by people all around me! What are they looking for? I suspect that they are looking for what we used to refer to as "integrity"! It's a word I don't hear very often these days. So what is it?

Integrity is a high standard of living based on a personal code of morality that doesn't succumb to the whim of the moment or the dictates of the majority. Integrity is to personal character what health is to the body, or 20/20 vision is to the eyes. People of integrity are whole; their lives are put together. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books. They say to a watching world, "Go ahead and look. My behavior will match my beliefs. My walk will match my talk. My character will match my confession."

Integrity is not reputation - what others think of us. It is not success - what we have accomplished. Integrity embodies the sum total of our being and our actions. It originates in who we are as believers in Jesus Christ - accepted, valued, capable, and forgiven - but it expresses itself in the way we live and behave, no matter whether we are in church on Sunday or at work on Monday or in a lonely hotel room on Tuesday or suffering in a hospital bed on Thursday.

Unfortunately, as I have suggested above, integrity is in short supply and seems to be diminishing everyday. All too frequently our integrity is discarded upon the altar of fame, or fortune, or political opportunism. Sadly, what we want to achieve is more important than what we are to be. Integrity is lost when we focus on expedience  more than excellence, on progress more than purity, on riches more than righteousness.

People are watching. They watch to see if our behaviour matches our belief, if our walk matches our talk, and if our character matches our confession. In a word, they watch to see if we have integrity.

Solomon wrote: "He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out." (Proverbs 10:9).

How secure is your walk? How secure is mine? Others are watching!

Fifth Sunday.

Once again we have a fifth Sunday in the month so, as is now my custom, I wish to share some information about the persecuted church, and also to promote one of my books - remembering that all royalties go to Release International in support of persecuted disciples of Jesus in many countries around the world.

The land-locked west African country of Burkina Faso is bordered by Mali and Niger to its north, and the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin to its south. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. Known as the Republic of Upper Volta until the mid-1980s, Burkina Faso was formerly part of French West Africa, gaining its independence in 1960. French is still the language of government and the business world.

Since gaining its independence the country has been subject to on-going insecurity, with several military coups (including two in 2022) and has been prone to repeated droughts and famine. The vast majority of its people rely on subsistence agriculture. Cotton is a major cash crop.

Pastor Emmanuel*, who serves in Burkina Faso, has seen church members killed and has been forced to flee, in the face of attacks from Islamist militant groups.Serving the Lord has not been easy, particularly when persecution has meant moving from one place to another. In 2024 his village was attacked. ‘During the attack, four of our church members were killed,’ he said. ‘Many of us survived, because we managed to hide in the corn field. They targeted mostly men, but all of us were afraid.’

Emmanuel has benefited from a project supported by Release International, which seeks to help displaced pastors in Burkina Faso. He said, 'Today my heart rejoices and I thank my Saviour for what He has done for me and my family. Also, I want to thank the supporters, who are in a different part of the world, for their act of mercy. We have already received funds for food and housing for two months, together with aid for our [ministry].' ‘You have remembered us; may God remember you in every moment of your life. May God bless you and all you do for him.’

* Name changed for obvious reasons.

"I warmly commend this excellent piece of work from the pen of Brian Ross on the New Testament Letters of John.  There are three characteristics of the work which are admirable. First, it is expository in its intention: the author's concern is to explore what the text of Scripture teaches.  Secondly, it is applicatory in its form: that is, the truth is applied to Christian life and behaviour.  And finally, it possesses clarity in its structure.  I would expect it to have a wide uptake throughout the Christian church." 

Rev. Eric Alexander, M.A., B.D.

Formerly minister of St George’s-Tron Parish Church, Glasgow.

The Centre of your life.

Any serious student, or even reader, of the Bible will be aware that the Centre of that single Book - that is a library of books - is One Person, the Lord Jesus, the Christ (Messiah) of God. What many do not realise is that He may also be the Centre of our lives. How may this be? Simply by believing in Him. John writes: "But these [signs] 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." (John 20:30-31). What does this mean?

First of all it concerns eternal life. There is a common misunderstanding that "eternal life" is "everlasting" life - life that goes on, and on, and on. Greek mythology lets us know how tragic that would be! The story is told of the young Greek "goddess" who fell in love with a mortal, and wanted to be with him forever. So she went to Zeus (head of the Greek pantheon) and asked that he be granted everlasting life. Her wish was granted, and she went off as happy as could be. For many years, all was well, but then the couple realised their mistake. The "goddess" remained youthful, beautiful, and full of vigour. Her mortal partner grew older and older, and more and more frail, but was destined never to die! 

Eternity is not "endless time". It is "timelessness". [I deal more fully with this in my book "Great Words of the Faith"]. You see, time is a created entity, and has both a beginning and end. Eternity is the "dimension" in which the Creator God "resides". And eternal life is, in fact, a totally different life that, in our mortal lives, is beyond our comprehension. What we do know is that is promised to all who have come to the Lord Jesus, in repentance and faith. 

Without the Lord Jesus, we have no hope of heaven. Paul reminds us that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), and we are all sinners. We have broken God's moral law, and deserve nothing but His wrath and punishment.

John, commenting on Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, writes: "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). Note the tense of the final verb! It's in the present tense. In other words, as soon as we accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, we receive the very life of Almighty God. That is being "born again". It's not just new life, it's a whole new attitude to life in our physical, mortal bodies. It's not the oftimes artificial, unstable, life that the world offers, but a life full of purpose and peace, and joy.

So Jesus can be the centre of your life, and in your death. I commend Him to you.