Roger Aubrey

Consequences of faith (Part Three)

A third consequence of Mary's 'yes' to God concerning Jesus was that she faced the certainty of losing the love of her life: Joseph. She weighed up everything very carefully, knowing that her response in faith to God's word and will might mean the end of her relationship to him. Joseph had the right to 'divorce' Mary because of this (under Jewish custom of the time couples were regarded as semi-married when they were betrothed). We know from the Gospels that Joseph had considered doing so, until God spoke to him in a dream. Furthermore, Joseph could have been the one to stone her to death, if he so wished.

Mary's life was never to be the same again after saying 'yes' to God. Even though she loved Joseph and wanted, more than anything else, to spend the rest of her life with him, she was prepared to lose him for the sake of God's purpose. Mary had a greater love in her life: she loved God with all her heart, and any other love would have to find its place within that greater love. Her faith was an act of love for God.

This is often the big one for us. When God invades our lives his question is always, 'do you love me more than anything else?' He doesn't need our love; he is not lonely and desperate for love. But we were created to love him; and life only makes sense and has the right perspectives when we love him more than anything else. It was Jim Elliot who said, 'he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.' In Philippians 3 Paul regarded everything as excrement compared to knowing and loving God. Faith works out of a love relationship with God. Faith sees the true value of God.

Of course, the great thing about Mary's life was that God blessed her faith and obedience. She didn't lose Joseph after all; she actually gave birth to and raised the Saviour of the world!; she and Joseph had at least six more children; and she was one of the 120 at Pentecost. Mary got filled with the Holy Spirit that day, spoke in new tongues and ended up in the street, praising God and being mistaken for a drunk! She who had carried the Creator of the world in her womb was indwelt by the Spirit of that Creator God.

She had quite a life, don't you think?

Consequences of faith (Part Two)

Another consequence of Mary's faith was that she put herself in mortal danger. Not only would she lose her reputation, she could have lost her life. Imagine it: she was pregnant but not married. She could have been stoned to death for that. Or she could have been convicted of adultery, another capital offence at the time. The religious leaders would be ready for her.

Once again, Mary's faith in God and her obedience to his word put her directly in the firing line, where her very life was at stake. Nevertheless, she said 'yes' to God. Her faith and confidence in God to fulfill his promise remained unflinching, regardless of her personal safety. She had true grit. A steel rod of faith ran right through her.

Whenever I read Hebrews 11, I see this same characteristic in all the heroes and heroines of the faith. Their unswerving faith and hope in God's ability to deliver on his promise frequently gave them a total disregard for their own welfare. They were not mindless idiots; they counted the cost, realised what they were doing, but still did what God told them.

We may not have to face physical danger and mortal threat (although many of our brothers and sisters in certain parts of the world have to), but real faith gives you the courage to stand up against any threat and adversary. Real faith makes you stand up under intense pressure without crumbling. Real faith brings you through impossible circumstances with overwhelming victory, because, as Gabriel said to Mary, 'Nothing is impossible with God.'

Consequences of faith

Sometimes we are in danger of making the Christmas story nothing more than a sentimental fairy tale in which the characters are nothing more than Disneyesque caricatures. This is especially true of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary plays a higher role in Catholicism than Protestantism, where she is regarded as an incidental player in salvation history. But Catholics have all but deified her. The truth is she was an ordinary woman who said yes to God's will and purpose.

Mary was about sixteen or seventeen when Gabriel visited her in Nazareth. We know from Jewish tradition of the time that girls were betrothed around this age and Mary was already betrothed to Joseph before the angel's visit. She was a wholesome, ordinary young lady with her whole life ahead of her, living in a small town in northern Israel, marrying the man she loved, and raising their children. Then God turned up.

Mary's response to God's plan was an emphatic 'yes', unlike Zechariah earlier in the story, who in effect said to God, 'Do you seriously expect me to believe that!?" All Mary wanted to know was how God was going to do it: how was she going to have a baby since she was a virgin?

Mary's 'yes' to God brought massive consequences to her life, and these are often ignored or overlooked by us when reading the Christmas story. The first consequence was the Mary kissed her reputation goodbye. She lived in a small town which was noted for its religious fervour. She would be well known in such a place. In saying 'yes' to God she knew what would come her way: misunderstanding, abuse, gossip, ostracism, shame. Even though she was blameless. Mary was prepared to go through all that because God spoke to her about her life and destiny, which meant far more to her than her good name and reputation.

God is not interested in a respectable Christianity that never rocks the boat. Our faith starts at the Cross, the ultimate place of ostracism. Christ does not call us to a life of respectability. When he says, 'Believe in me', he says, 'Come and lose your reputation.'

Hear, hear

He who belongs to God hears what God says. (John 8:47)

Further to yesterday's post: it is natural for a believer to hear God; as new creations we are designed that way. Simply put: if we belong to God we hear him. He is living within the believer in the Person of the Holy Spirit, who is always speaking. God makes it easy for us to hear him; therefore, no believer can say, 'God doesn't speak to me.' The key thing is that we hear him.

Same words: different voices

'Let all who are simple come in here.' (Proverbs 9:4 and 16)

This invitation occurs twice in Proverbs 9. It's an invitation to participate in two contradictory ways of life. The first invitation comes from Wisdom - the life of God; the second comes from Folly - the life of the devil. Both use the same words, but the voices that speak those words are diametrically opposed to each other. The consequences of following the voices are different too: life or death.

Don't listen only to words; ask 'who is the source of those words?' Ask 'who is speaking those words?' This is important when listening to preachers or teachers. Whenever somebody gets up to speak you're not only opening yourself to the words they speak but the spirit by which they speak those words. The devil can speak the Word of God: he used it to try and get Jesus to abandon the Father's will and worship him. It's possible for believers to use the Word of God for anything. Just because somebody quotes the Bible at you doesn't mean that God is speaking to you. You have to know the voice behind the words. That's why you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit: so that you may discern who is speaking the Word of God to you. Anybody can use the Bible; only God uses it correctly.

Baby Lord

It's impossible to be in a store, watch TV or listen to the radio at the moment without something Christmasy assaulting or caressing your senses. I love Christmas, so I tend to enjoy it, unless it's too cheesy.

Anyway, to the point. I was listening to the radio in the car this morning and on came a lovely medley of Christmas music in a classical style: very nice indeed. One of the medleys caught my attention; it was one I hadn't heard in a long time. And to be honest, I couldn't remember which carol it was. The only line I could recall was 'Christ the babe is Lord of all.' Later on, Google came to my rescue: the carol is called 'Infant Holy, Infant Lowly'. But I'm glad I remembered that particular line: 'Christ the babe is Lord of all.' That's the miracle and wonder of the Incarnation - God becoming one of us in the Person of Jesus Christ. As each year passes and the meaning of Christmas is all but eradicated, that simple line from the carol sums up what in truth took place in Bethlehem: the Word became flesh. The Creator God, King of Kings and Lord of lords, the God who appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses and Elijah, became a man.

It's incredible to think that the baby who was born in Bethlehem was actually at the same time the God who was upholding the universe by his nature and word. I don't understand all that but I believe it! God the Son, by whom and for whom all things were made, became one of us. I never get sentimental about Christmas, about little babies and cute animals around mangers. The birth of Jesus of Nazareth was a cosmic event that shook the heavens: The Lord became a baby - and remained Lord. Amazing.

That tastes good

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1Peter 2:2-3)

My late mother used to make the best bread pudding in the world. Don't confuse bread pudding with bread and butter pudding; they're quite different, as you can see. Mum's bread pudding, fresh and warm out of the oven, was one of the great pleasures of life. And then cold out of the fridge: a slab of sheer delight. I sometimes ate other bread puddings; but none of them compared to mum's. I'd tasted the best, and nothing else held a candle to it. Eventually I refused to eat any bread pudding but my mum's. 

And then she died. In one of those weird surreal moments when my siblings and I were clearing out the house, we began to search for mum's bread pudding recipe, but to no avail. We realised that the recipe was in her head, which was no use to us! She got the recipe from her mother; it had been handed down by word of mouth and demonstration. You can imagine the awful feeling we had: not only was mum gone but so was the best bread pudding in the world. I began a quest and searched high and low for a decent bread pudding: shop bought ones, friends who tried to make it, grannies of friends, I tried everything. All failed. I had tasted the best.

As I read this passage of Scripture I was reminded of my bread pudding experience. Once I had tasted the best nothing else could compare or satisfy me. It's the same with the Lord: once we have tasted him, once we have encountered him and he becomes our very life, nothing can remotely compare with him. We are spoiled. Some of the puddings I tasted came close to mum's; but with the Lord nothing comes close, nothing at all. There is nothing like knowing Jesus. If you've tasted how good God is, don't waste your life trying to fill it with something else, something that will substitute for him. You've tasted the best, ignore the rest.

(My bread pudding quest had a happy ending. One day I came home and my wife had made me a bread pudding. She had seen my mum's and knew what it should look like. So she made me one. It was just like eating mum's!)

Any dream won't do

Joseph had a dream. (Genesis 37:5)

Last Sunday I was in the meeting at All Nations, listening to the preacher talking about how Joseph kept his hope alive and never gave up on God, others and himself. It was a very good word, and really practical.

As I listened that song from 'Joseph' went through my head: 'Any dream will do.' As I thought about that lyric I realised that it isn't true: any dream won't do. The point was not that Joseph had a dream; he had a dream that God gave him about his life. True: he didn't understand all  the dream meant at that time, but the important thing that held him through his subsequent experiences of life, both good and bad, was he knew that he had a dream which God gave him.

I am sure that Joseph thought about that dream on numerous occasions, and it kept him going. That must have been especially so when he interpreted correctly the dreams of his fellow prisoners and of Pharaoh, two years later. His hope and therefore his faith were strong because he believed in the ability and faithfulness of the God of his dream.

It's important that we have a 'dream', a purpose, a focus of life. But that dream only has value if it's centred in the person of Jesus Christ and his dream. Otherwise we are mere dreamers.

Some things never change

Back refreshed from a lovely holiday in Tenerife. It was strange to be in the sunshine by the pool just a few weeks before Christmas; but I got over that very quickly.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the USA - hello to all my friends over there. You're probably not even reading this today anyway; there's too much turkey to eat and football to watch. Whatever you're doing, have a wonderful day. Tonight we are going to be with our dear friends Terence and Beth to have a thanksgiving dinner. That's the great thing about being part of All Nations Church: we get to celebrate all the time!

Today is also the fifth anniversary of this blog. It's hard to believe that this has been going for five years; and some of you have been with me all the way. I still can't shake you off! My very first post was entitled 'Every Day is Thanksgiving Day', and I wrote about something that has become an essential part of my life in the past five years. In fact, I appreciate the power and necessity of giving God thanks in all circumstances even more today than when I wrote that first entry. Some things never change.

If you'd like to step back in time and read that first entry, here it is.

The multifaceted family of God

A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. (Revelation 4:3)

In the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure and privilege of witnessing God's multi-faceted family. I have been in Cuba, and joined in worshipping God with Cuban style worship - fast and furious! Last Sunday I was with our group in Hounslow, London, which comprises almost 100% Gujarati believers from India. Totally different rhythms and dancing, but worship of the same God.

It's no coincidence that God created the rainbow; and when I look at the rainbow I see that each colour is distinct but melds with all the others to make a beautiful phenomenon. Such are the people of God: he has called us from every tribe, tongue, people and nation, with our cultures and colours, our languages and customs, to be an example of his nature. We are one people, bought with the same blood, filled with the same Spirit, with the same Lord - Jesus. Only God can do that.

Today, Dianne is whisking me off to Tenerife for a week's holiday. It's been a busy year and it's not over yet. So we are going to recharge the batteries and catch up on some sleep and reading. I'll be back on the 26th. We're leaving the house under the care of friends who have just moved out of their home waiting for their new one. See you next week.