When you read God's Word ...

"When you read God's Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself, 'It is talking to me, and about me.'" (Soren Kierkegaard).

The Story Of God’s Love

Jesus tells us a story of God’s love. Jesus is the Story of God’s love.

In the preaching of God’s Word – the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), we have a story told By Jesus. It’s a story of God’s love.

In the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we have the Story of Jesus. It’s the story of the perfect Son. Jesus is the Story of God’s love.

The Generation Gap

The Generation Gap – The old and the young cannot or will not understand each other.

I How do we tackle the problem of the Generation Gap?

Do we seek our answer with the adult generation? – By demanding that young people comply with their parents

Do we seek our answer with the youth culture? – By demanding that adults embrace the attitude of their children

Neither of these alternatives gets to the root of the problem. There is, however, a third alternative. We can take the problem to Jesus.

In my own experience, the Generation Gap has never been a great problem. Why? – Because the problem was taken to Jesus.

As I entered the years of adolescence and early adulthood, I committed my life to Jesus Christ.On the same night, my father also committed his life to Jesus Christ.

I was fifteen. He was forty. It looked like the perfect situation for a generation gap. The generation gap never quite developed.

Why? – Because we both found the perfect solution: Jesus.

In Jesus Christ, there is neither young nor old. The real spiritual relationship is not the father-son relationship. It’s the relationship of being brothers in Christ. In God’s family, we are all sons, and none of us is a Father. We are all children of God, and He alone is our Father.

When we understand this, the father will not demand that the son be just like him, and the son will not demand that the father become a youngster like him. Both will share a common goal – to be like Christ, the perfect Son of God our Father.

Rather than speaking of the “Generation Gap”, we should speak of the “Jesus Generation.”

In John 4:43-54, we see a generation problem, a problem involving a father and his son. It is not, however, the problem of a generation gap. There is no hint of a generation gap.

It is a problem for both the father and his son. It is a problem that neither of them could solve. It is a problem which is taken to Jesus.

We are not told precisely what age the son was. We’re not told exactly what his illness was. We’re told that the problem was taken to Dr. Jesus.

Each of us suffers from a spiritual illness – sin, and we must go to Dr. Jesus for His remedy.

What was Jesus’ remedy?

“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”

Jesus says, “Go, your son will live” (John 4:50a). “The man believed Jesus’ words and went” (John 4:50b).

The man trusted and obeyed. Then, when the man trusted and obeyed, came the blessing, the healing.

Within families, there  is always the possibility of the development of a generation gap. This generation gap becomes a real problem when another gap has not been bridged – the gap between man and God.

No matter what side of the generation gap you may be on, remember this: we are all, by nature, on the wrong side of the gap between man and God. There is, however, something else that we must never forget: Jesus has bridged the gap between man and God.

To Understand History, We Need Revelation.

Warning against "the danger of going outside the sphere of faith into the area of observation", G. C. Berkouwer disputes the legitimacy of interpreting the ways of Providence on the basis of facts" (The Providence of God, pp. 164-165). He aims to guard against the possibility that "everyone according to his own prejudice and subjective whim (can) canonize a certain event or national rise as a special act of God in which He reveals and demonstrates His favour" (p. 164). Acutely aware that "the interpretation of an historical event as a special revelation of Providence too easily becomes a piously disguised form of self-justification" (p. 166), Berkouwer insists that "no event speaks so clearly that we may conclude from it a certain disposition of God - as long as God Himself does not reveal that His disposition comes to expression in the given event" (p. 170). Concerning events in the history of Israel, which are recorded in Scripture, Berkouwer writes, "The Divine disposition is, indeed, revealed in these events. But  it is the word of revelation which  explains them" (p. 171). Concerning the interpretation of contemporary events, he warns, "we have not been given a norm for explaining the facts of history... in the absence of a norm only an untrustworthy plausibility remains" (p. 171).  Using insightful exegesis of Scripture, Berkouwer warns against a misguided interpretation of contemporary events. Commenting on the words, "Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?" (Amos 9:7), he writes, "the fact of the exodus may not be used as basis, isolated from revelation and seen by itself  from which to draw selfish conclusions about God's dispositions... As a mere historical facrt, the exodus puts Israel on the same level with other nations. But accompanied by a proper faith in God, it constitutes a challenge and, given the proper response, further blessings" (p. 176).

The storm is raging. Jesus draws near. There is peace.

The storm is raging: ‘they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them’ (Mark 6:48). Jesus draws near, and there is peace: ‘the wind ceased’ (Mark 6:51). Another ‘storm’ continues to rage: ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders...?’ (Mark 7:5). How did Jesus respond to this ‘storm’ of criticism? - He exposed the hypocrisy of those who made the tradition of men more important than the Word of God (Mark 7:7-9,13). He invited ‘the people’ to come ‘to Him’, to ‘hear’, to ‘understand’. His Word was addressed to ‘all’ of them (Mark 7:14). Jesus emphasizes this point: ‘man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7). The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Which will it be? - ‘Their hearts were hardened’ (Mark 7:52) or ‘Loving the Lord your God with all your heart’ (Mark 12:30).

Wise men (and women) still seek Jesus.

Matthew 2:1-12

The star, which lay ahead of the wise men, led them to Christ’s first coming. The “star”, which lies ahead of us leads us towards Christ’s Second Coming. If we are wise, we will keep the Second Coming of the Lord at the forefront of our attention. As the wise men were ready for Christ’s first coming, so we must be ready for His Second Coming. This is emphasized in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). The wise are ready for the Coming of the Lord. The foolish are not ready for His Coming. “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (v. 13). What was the “star” which led the wise men to Jesus? Was it not the same “star” which leads us towards His Second Coming ? - the “star” of Holy Scripture, the Word of God (Matthew 2:5). We must be guided by the Scriptures if we are to find our way to Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). The Scriptures will bring us wisdom. They lead us to Jesus. As we come to Christ, we will discover that He is our Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-27a, 30a; 2:1-7, 10, 12-13).

What a great difference there is between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God which is Jesus Christ! In Matthew 2, we see the wisdom of man. Herod thought he was smart (vs. 8, 12). God is not impressed by man’s wisdom - “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever, I will thwart … Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world” (1 Corinthians 1:19-20). The wisdom of God is very different from the wisdom of this world. God’s wisdom fills us with joy (Matthew 2:10). God’s wisdom leads us to worship Christ (Matthew 2:2, 11). The wise men brought costly gifts to Jesus. This runs counter to the wisdom of this world. Worldly wisdom tells us to acquire riches rather than giving them away to Jesus. When we give ourselves to Jesus, the world may say, “What a waste!” The Word of God assures us that giving our time, talents and money to the Lord is never a waste. When, in joyful worship, we give ourselves to Jesus, He saves us from wasting our lives on things that can never satisfy. Looking to Him, we become less attached to the things we cannot keep - material possessions - and we learn to treasure the one thing that remains forever - eternal life.

Where does true love come from?

1 Samuel 20:1-42

Where does true love come from? It comes from You, Lord. It comes from Your love. Give us real love. Give us Your love. When we know that we are loved by You, our love will grow strong - our love for You, our love for one another, our love for people who need You.