Weeds Again - James 1

I have in recent months been meditating on the purpose of weeds, after being told by a friend that weeds have an important role in nature, wondering the kind of role they have in our lives as believers and followers of Jesus. This time I would like to think about what happens when we disturb soil in the natural and compare this to our lives.

When a few years ago I decided to build a house on some property we had purchased earlier, the first thing I did was to remove the noxious weeds which were in the vicinity of where we would build. I was pleased to see that most of these weeds never came back. Yet on the borders of this area there were places where the soil was disturbed and wherever there was a disturbance weeds tended to sprout. At the time I was rather perplexed over this as the weeds were the only things that grew, none of the native flora grew in these areas. As a result I consulted a weeds expert who informed me that this was typical, wherever there is soil disturbance and the native environment changed, weeds tend to grow in place of the native vegetation.



This started me thinking and comparing this to our lives as Christians, whenever our own environment is disturbed, that is our normal rhythms and flows in life, whether it be losing our job, moving home, losing a loved one or otherwise, these things give room for weeds to appear in our lives. And whilst we would automatically says "how terrible this is", I am starting to believe that this is in fact a way in which we are tested in our faith and able to see areas of life that need change.

James tells us, "consider it pure joy, my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James here makes it clear that trials have a purpose in life and we could even say that without them we might never become mature as James goes on to clarify. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, according to weeds experts, weeds enable the native flora to strengthen. It would appear therefore that weeds enable us to grow in our faith and develop maturity in the Lord.

This then brings me to the parable of the man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24) compared to the one who built upon the sand. In this parable we see the comparison between that which is strong and stable to that which is fleeting and soft. This parable is very much about the environment in which we grow our lives. When we choose to position ourselves in Christ, The Rock, and all that He has for us from His Kingdom then we are stable. However when we choose to put our faith in our own hands or resources and strength, our environment can be disturbed at any time. And whilst I said that weeds can strengthen our lives, it is better from the beginning that we establish our selves firstly in Christ.

Matthew 6:33 commends us to "seek first the Kingdom of God and all it's righteousness..." If and then storms do arise which cause our environment to be shaken, we can know and trust that all we need is in Christ and it is He who will uphold us.

King Ahaz 2Chronicles 28

Over and over again throughout the Old Testament we read of how mostly the Kings of Judah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But occasionally we read how they also sinned according to the ways of their brothers the Israelites, that is those who separated themselves from the house of Judah. In this chapter of 2Chronicles 28 we have such a king, his name was Ahaz and scripture tells us in verse V1 "....Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. V2 He walked in the way of the Kings of Israel and also made cast idols for worshipping the Baals."

Whilst it is wonderful to think that mostly the Kings of Judah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, it is also fair to say that occasionally they were led astray by their brothers the Israelites. This I believe is an example of how those we call brothers can cause us to stray from what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Today we might simply see this as peer pressure, but what was true in the Old Testament is true today, for just as the Israelites were led astray by their worship of other gods and therefore influenced by these gods, we too can be influenced by various spirits that are at work in our brothers lives. John speaks also about this in the book of Revelation where he refers the Nicolations in chapter 2:6.

Who were the Nicolations and what can we learn from their wickedness? Got Answers gives this response. The exact origin of the Nicolaitans is unclear. Some Bible commentators believe they were a heretical sect who followed the teachings of Nicolas—whose name means “one who conquers the people”—who was possibly one of the deacons of the early church mentioned in Acts 6:5. It is possible that Nicolas became an apostate, denying the true faith and became part of a group holding "the doctrine of Balaam," who taught Israel "to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality." Clement of Alexandria says, “They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self-indulgence.” Their teaching perverted grace and replaced liberty with license.

Other commentators believe that these Nicolaitans were not so called from any man, but from the Greek word Nicolah, meaning "let us eat," as they often encouraged each other to eat things offered to idols. Whichever theory is true, it is certain that the deeds of the Nicolaitans were an abomination to Christ. They, like the Gnostics and other false teachers, abused the doctrine of grace and tried to introduce licentiousness in its place (2 Peter 2:15, 19; Jude 1:4).

Yet this is not the end of this story, for just as one man does what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, God raises up others to counter act this wickedness. In 2 Chronicles 29 reveals it would be the son of Ahaz, namely King Hezekiah, who would do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and not only did he did what was right but also ordered the cleansing of the Temple and re-instated the priesthood that had been abandoned.


This is of cause a picture of the very thing that King Jesus does when he arrives in Jerusalem and begins to make whips and throw the money changers from the Temple, see Matthew 21:12.

Today it is you and I who are the Temple of God and where God's Spirit truly dwells. This then begs of us, what are we allowing to infiltrate or influence our thinking and our lives. How do we keep ourselves sanctified in the eyes of our God?

The real question is what generation do we want to be, the one that does what is evil or the one that does what is right in the eyes of our God?

Types & Shadows - King David & Solomon

When we talk about types and shadows in scripture, we usually refer to Old Testament pictures that represent a New Testament principle. It is the similarities between King David & his son King Solomon that I would like to observe.

Recently I have been reading my Swedish bible through from Genesis to Revelation mainly to keep my understanding of Swedish refined but also to gain some other revelation of scripture that I have missed when reading in English. It is so easy to assume certain things when we feel we know things to a particular level.

King David was the warrior King, in fact besides Joshua, he did more to establish Israel's territory than any other King. It was through King David's exploits that King Solomon reigned so powerfully. Of cause it should be noted that as a result of the wisdom that God had given King Solomon there was no king before or after him that was able to rule so wisely and increase the wealth and prosperity of the nation as he did.

Each had their defining roles in bringing about the will of God in regards to the nation of Israel, it can also be said that every king after them and even many others contributed to out working God's will whether their actions were positive or negative. Even the likes of King Nebuchadnezzar was said to be a servant of God because God had used him to bring the people of Israel into captivity and hence provide an opportunity for the people to see the result of their wicked ways.

Back to King David & Solomon! As said King David was a man of war, it was through bloodshed that he established the nation. However, King Solomon was a man of peace and it was this that defined his kingship. 1 & 2 Chronicles will testify to this as well as 1 & 2 Kings!

Similarly, when we look at the reign and rule of King Jesus we can see both the aspects of King David and King Solomon at work. There is no doubt that Revelation 19 gives and speaks of Jesus being this warrior king as does Isaiah 11 and many other scriptures when we look. In fact one of His titles in scripture is the Lord God of Hosts referring to the heavenly hosts that wage war.


In a similar way Jesus is also seen as the Prince of Peace, the one who comforts and mourns with us and who came as salvation for the world as we read throughout scripture. Returning again to King David and Solomon, we see in 1 & 2 Chronicles that king David was not permitted to build the temple because he had spilt blood in taking the land. Instead it would be King Solomon that would build the temple being a man of peace.

Today it is King Jesus, He who was slain but also rose again from conquering death, who now builds the church as He indicated to Peter in Matthew 16 when He said "upon this rock I will build my church". Just as the Man of Peace (King Jesus) today builds the church, it was the man of peace King Solomon who built the shadow of the church in the Old Testament. Hence the pattern of "first the physical and then the spiritual" can be seen in this picture of King Solomon and our Lord Jesus.

It is interesting to note, that it is King Jesus that builds His Church and will continue to do so in the future, not man nor will it be any man that will destroy it either.

The Commission to make disciples Matthew 28

Once again I feel led to share some thoughts on the commissioning of believers to "go into all the world and make disciples" as we are commanded in Matthew 28. As one famous pastor once said, "Jesus' last command should be our first priority" and whilst many wonderful things are being done around the world to share the good news through various programs, there is still a great need on a personal level to make disciples.

Jesus exemplified this calling in his own life and the disciples that he made and who we now know as the apostles. Many of us today are happy to bring people to meetings or even share our faith on the streets and in other ways, yet there is still a great need for those who would give and share their lives with those around them in the way that Christ exemplified. This is echoed in many books written by 3DM and Mike Breen who are now based in the U.S.

All over the world today, thousand and millions of dollars are being spent in getting people into programs or on church seats. All good if all we want is to fill our buildings and grow larger church membership roles. Yet this is not what Christ called us to do, and whilst all of these things are good, obedience to our Lord is far more important and pertinent than sacrifice. He has called us to make disciples.

What then is a disciple, well a disciple in Jesus' time was someone you invited into your life that you could share all things you have with. Everything from the clothes on your back to the wisdom and knowledge you had. The result being that the disciples would finally be in a place of maturity that they in turn would leave the person who they were being discipled by to go off to disciple others just as they had been discipled. This makes the patterns we see in the early church understood as we see why they sold all they had to ensure everyone had enough.

Today's society is very ego-centric, meaning they often just look out for themselves. As a result, our ability to share our lives with others has diminished or taken a back seat. As the church of the 21st century we must once again be willing to give all to follow Christ's example to make disciples. We must deny ourselves once again so that his last command is our first priority.

Home is Where the Heart Is - 1Peter 2:11

In Australia, we have saying which says, Home is the heart is. I believe this is true in many ways, just as Peter says 1 Peter 2:11 that we are foreigners in this world then where our heart is, in heaven, that's also where our treasure will be or visa versa just as Matthew 6:29 says.

Yet on occasions we are called to places where perhaps our heart is not or at least to places where we would rather NOT be. How do we as Christians deal with such scenarios? Joseph. on a number of occasions found himself in scenarios just like this. Whether it be thrown into a well, enslaved and later sold as a slave into Potifers house and eventually imprisoned for crimes he never committed. His future seemed doomed and most certainly he would have questioned the dreams of greatness he had as a young boy.

Colossians 3 speaks of one of the many keys that scripture give us in dealing with these let downs in life. Verse two and through to verse 10 speaks of looking not upon the circumstances and situations that surround us in life but to look up to our heavenly abode or destination. Remembering that we indeed are "not of this world" but represent another Kingdom and another King. We are always to remember the King who we represent, that is King Jesus and our heavenly Father.

2 Corinthians tells us that we are Ambassadors for Christ and as a result where ever we find ourselves we are representing our Lord, whether it be in speech, in actions or in deeds we come from another world and are called to bring the gospel (good news) from that world to those we encounter in life.

In view of this, we can understand how important it is that each of us play our part in transforming the world we live into a better place one person at a time. But in addition, we must also remember the valuable lessons we are able to learn along the way. Not only did Joseph get insights into how terrible prisoners where treated in Egypt, but he also learnt that he could reign as a Son of the King in those dark and dreary places.

We need to learn to reign also as Sons of God (Rom 8) in the dark world in which we find ourselves to bring light and salt. Consider the thousands of refugees coming to our shores each year who have never heard the Gospel of the Kingdom. What an opportunity we have in this country where it is still legal to preach Christ!