Roger Aubrey

Mary

During the past few days I, like millions of other believers, have been reading the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke. While I have once again been moved by the wonder of God becoming one of us in the Person of Jesus, I've also been struck by the character of Mary. To a large extent she has been ignored by Protestantism, as a reaction to her elevation to near deity in Catholicism. But I fear we have thrown the baby out with the bath water. Trying to get inside the mind of this young lady has been a fascinating exercise; and I feel I'm only just beginning to scratch the surface of an unexamined - by me anyway - life.

Mary was an incredible woman, and a brave one too. Firstly, she was willing to kiss her reputation goodbye so that God could fulfill his purpose for her and the world. The moment Mary said yes to God she was prepared to be misunderstood, branded an adulteress or even worse, and lose any good name she might have had. For a righteous, virtuous young woman to be prepared for that: she was something special.

And not only that. In saying yes to God's plan she put herself in very real physical danger. In Basra, Iraq today, young Muslim women who refuse to wear the veil are being murdered. Mary faced the same fate; she could have been stoned to death for getting pregnant outside of marriage. But she went ahead, so that the Saviour of the world could be born. That takes incredible courage.

Mary was also prepared to lose the love of her life: Joseph. He had every right to break off their engagement. In fact, he could have led the stoning. Even though she loved this young man with every fibre of her being, there was a prior love - she loved God with all her heart too. Mary was ready to let go of what she valued the most for the sake of her Lord.

Mary was no insignificant or bit player in the history of God's people of faith: she belongs in the hall of fame.

The Ideal God

God is everything that he should be. If we were to describe our ideal God (humour me a moment), I’m sure we would all want a God who never harmed us or thought badly about us; who was always kind towards us; who liked us; who was for us; who didn’t bless us one day and then attack us the next. We’d want a God who took pleasure in our success and cared for us. Our God would not be smiting us down with sickness or forgetting us when hard times came. He would certainly not be the one inflicting those inevitable hard times that come our way on us. He would be for us. Well, I have news for you: the God you want is the God you have:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” (Jeremiah 29:11-12)

More Kingdom Paradoxes

• Partial obedience is complete disobedience
• When you're walking through the valley of the shadow you're also sitting down at the table of the Lord
• Childlike faith is the path to maturity
• Singing can defeat an army
• Bread and wine can heal you
• Nobodies become somebodies
• Orphans become fathers
• Enemies become friends
• Heart transplants are necessary to enter and live in the Kingdom

Kingdom Paradoxes

 

'My Kingdom is not of this world.' (Jesus, in John 18:36)

The Kingdom of God is like no other Kingdom; in fact, it's the very opposite of the 'kingdoms of this world'. In the Kingdom of God:

Your greatness is measured by your servanthood;

You gain your life by giving it away;

You love your enemies;

You are freed from slavery to sin to become a slave of God;

You are a slave and a son;

You're well fed but always hungry;

You're full of joy but dissatisfied;

You have all things but count nothing as your own;

You keep on giving but always have more than enough.

Anybody got anymore?

'I'm an atheist too'

The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'. (Psalm 53:1)

The forthcoming release of the movie The Golden Compass got me thinking about this verse and a conversation I had with an atheist many years ago. The movie is based on the book of the same name (in the UK it's called Northern Lights). It's written by the avowed anti Christian and fundamentalist atheist Philip Pullman, and is the first book in his trilogy His Dark Materials. The movie has been toned down so as not to offend certain religious groups in the US. Pullman is no passive unbeliever; he is on record as stating that one of his aims in writing is to 'kill God in the minds of children'. So much for free thought.

Anyway, to the point. I actually happened to be reading Psalm 53 yesterday, which opens with a comment about atheists. The Bible is quite dismissive of them; several times this phrase appears and it's quite curt: such people are fools. God doesn't seem to be setting out to win them over by proofs of his existence; he just says, 'They don't believe I'm here. How foolish'.

I've never tried to prove the existence of God to an atheist. I get on very well with most of the ones I have met over the years. But trying to prove the existence of God to a closed mind is not worth it. The most interesting conversation I had with an atheist was many years ago; he was my boss. I liked him very much and we often would sit and chat about many things. When it came to Christianity and the existence of God there was, naturally, a chasm between us. My boss had been raised in a strict Welsh religious home, which meant he spent a lot of his childhood and early teenage years in church. It would have been horrible.

One day as we were talking I felt prompted to ask him what seemed to be a strange question: 'Bill, what kind of a God don't you believe in?' He looked at me with a puzzled expression: 'What do you mean?', he replied. I said, 'Well, somewhere along the line you must have had some idea of what God was like and then decided you didn't believe in that God'. Bill said, 'That's right; I did'. I then asked him to describe to me the kind of God he didn't believe in. As he did I couldn't recognise the God of the Bible at all. The god Bill was describing was some harsh, vindictive, remote being who bore no resemblance to the living God. When he had finished I sat there for a moment and then said, 'Bill, I'm an atheist too'. His eyes almost popped out of his head! Before he could respond I explained. 'I don't believe in the god you've just described either. That god doesn't exist; he's a god you made up from what you were told when you were young and from the way your parents used God against you. Since I don't believe in that god you've just described I'm an atheist too!'

AW Tozer said, 'What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us'. We build our lives on our concept of God. That's why the most important question we face in life is: 'Who is God?' The vital thing is that we then get the right answer.

All I want for Christmas (3)

I want you to trust me in your times of trouble. (Psalm 50:15)

These past couple of days we've been looking at Psalm 50:14-15, discovering what God wants of us. We've seen he wants our thanks, that we fulfil our vows, and finally in this passage, he wants us to trust him in our times of trouble.

Troublesome times are part and parcel of life. Jesus told us that while we are in the world there will be occasions when we have trials, difficulties and sorrows (John 16:33). But in those times he also said we will have peace, because he has overcome the world. Life is not one long struggle after another; we are designed and destined to enjoy life, to prosper and to be blessed. Life is wonderful! Often we look at Job and think that his suffering was for most of his life, but it wasn't. If you read the story you'll find that he lived the vast majority of his long life full of blessing, wealth and joy. His suffering was a comparitively short but intense and severe period.

How should we respond when troublesome times come? God wants us to trust him, to believe him, to put our faith in him. In fact, these times are often the means by which our faith is tested to see if it's genuine, 'strong and pure' as 1Peter 1:7 says. Troubled times are the fire that tests our faith in God, that demonstrate whether we have a faith that's just theory or a faith that works. You only have to read any one of the stories of the men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11 to see that the faith all of them was proved in conflict, setbacks, failure, endurance, and over many years. Such faith is overcoming faith, it's a faith that wins the prize. It's the kind of faith that gets things done. It produces faith-fulness, stickability, and is characterised by genuine joy and peace.

It also pleases God.

All I want for Christmas (2)

I want you to fulfil your vows to me. (Psalm 50:14)

The second thing God wants from us is that we fulfil our vows to him. Words are very important to God; his own word is creative. He brought everything into being in the first place just by speaking. Every word God speaks can be trusted; he never tells lies or goes back on a promise. He is the ultimate promise keeper. God and his word are one; this is the foundation stone for our faith in him. Every word he speaks demands we believe him: and because he is trustworthy and fulfils all his promises or vows, we can have faith in him that he will do all he promises to do.

But God also demands the same of us. We expect him to be faithful to his word; he expects the same from us. We take him at his word; but he takes us at our word. It can't just be one way traffic: we can't demand of God that he keep his word to us and then fail to keep our own to him. It just doesn't work that way. When God hears us make promises to him through our affirmations of faith, our agreements with him, our prayers and the songs we sing to him, he believes us and expects us to do what we promise him.

Jacob discovered this facet of God. When he left home after deceiving Isaac and Esau he had his first major encounter with God at Bethel ('house of God'). The Bible tells us that

Jacob made this vow: 'If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing, and if he will bring me back safely to my father, then I will make Yahweh my God'. (Genesis 28:20-21)

God heard that vow. Many years later, when Jacob was on his way home to his father, God met him again, at Peniel ('face of God'). On this night of struggle, blessing and change in which Jacob became Israel, God called in Jacob's earlier vow. On that night Yahweh became Jacob's God; and Jacob would never be the same again. God treats us the same; it's no use saying to him, 'Lord, I didn't really mean it', or 'Lord, I've changed my mind'. That just doesn't wash with God. If you've made him a promise then you're honour bound to keep it. God wants a people whose word is their bond; and it starts by keeping the vows we have made him.

All I want for Christmas....

What I want is your true thanks...I want you to fulfil your vows...I want you to trust me...(Psalm 50:14-15)

I managed to hold out quite well this year; but I have to admit I've finally succumbed and begun to buy Christmas presents. The only reason is because I go to Cuba in the first week of December and don't want to end up rushing around, even though everything I've bought so far has been purchased online. So I haven't had to leave my room! God is good.

Anyway, this is the time when heavy hints are dropped about what we'd all like for Christmas. The Marks & Spencer brochure is strategically placed; the perfume bottle is shaken ostentatiously to show it's almost empty; 'I want one of those' is heard during every commercial break on TV. Funny: I never ask for socks or handkerchiefs, but I always get them.

I came across this verse in Psalm 50 this morning and discovered that there are things that God wants too: not for Christmas, but all the time. He doesn't need them; the verses just before these tell us that. God makes it very clear that he has no need - of us or things. But he has wants; he has desires.

The first thing he wants from us is true thanks. Later in the Psalm, in verse 23, God says that giving thanks is a sacrifice we make that truly honours him. Therefore it's something we should do all the time. 1Thessalonians 5:18 says we must give him thanks in all circumstances. No matter what happens to us, good or bad, we should be thankful to God. We don't thank him for every circumstance, but we thank him in every circumstance; we give God something when we give him thanks. We are giving of and from ourselves. We are the most grateful people on the planet. If you haven't given God true thanks yet today, take time to do it now. You can thank him for anything: your eyes which help you see the screen; the food in your stomach; the family or friends who are with you now; Jesus; health; anything at all. Try it: God requires it; it will also do you good and God will accept it as a sacrifice that honours him.

We'll continue tomorrow with the next thing that God wants... 

Good investment

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. (Matthew 6:20)

Yesterday in Bergen I had the opportunity to have lunch with my old friends Per and Bjorg Kristing. As we caught up with each others' news we spoke of our families and interests. Bjorg is an excellent watercolour artist; the home is festooned with many of her creations. I asked her if she is currently painting; her answer blew me away.

She said, 'Well I do paint when I can, but now I spend lots of time with the grandchildren. I want to invest as much as I can in what I can take to heaven.' I thought that was a brilliant reply from a lady who has learnt the true value of things. Bjorg and Per pour the life of Christ into their family, knowing that in doing so they are storing up treasure not only for themselves but also for those coming after them. True wisdom.

Face the fact

Abraham faced the fact that his body was as good as dead. (Romans 4:19)

Faith always demands that we face the fact; it never asks us to live in unreality. When we exercise faith in God we don't stick our heads in the sand or stick our fingers in our ears in an attempt to ignore the issue we need to exercise our faith in God over. Once we have heard the voice of God and taken it into our hearts in faith, the next step is often the crucial one for us. It's in that moment when we face the fact - the issue we need faith concerning - that we have to hold fast to what we have heard and believed; we have to trust completely and solely in the integrity and ability of God to do what he has promised. His word must be the controlling factor. The fact we are facing must never loom larger than the promise of God. The dominating fact in moving in faith is the promise and ability of God. Don't put out fleeces or trust in your natural senses: trust only in God and his Word. Then turn your attention away from the fact and confess the word: verbally agree with God has already said about it. Let that become the focus of your attention. And the creative force of your spoken agreement with God will bring the resolution. God works to faith!