FRESH Official Podcast

One of the most unpalatable things about being a Christian is repenting; turning away from what we know is wrong –  which is why a lot of people hold out on Jesus. The thing that makes repenting (you’ll excuse me if I use that word) so difficult is that we have to admit that we’re wrong, so our pride comes into play. And at the same time, we’re addicted to our particular little sin. And just as addicts delude themselves over the consequences of their addiction, we kid ourselves that Jesus will give us a little nudge and wink; that He’ll give us a special dispensation because, after all, we’re special. But because He loves us, that’s not something that He’ll allow to continue. Oh no! Says Jesus… Revelation 3:19,20 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (ESV) Jesus knows that our ongoing sin will lead to an eternal death, and because He loves us, make no mistake … He will bring things to a head; He will reprove, He will discipline –  at which point we have a choice. We can be zealous and repent, or we can resist Him, as though that somehow makes sense. Man, it’s hard to repent, but when we hear His voice, are we really going to close the door of our heart to Him? So how about you? Is your door open to Him, or closed? Will you repent, or will you miss out on fellowshipping with Him? That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

You’ve probably noticed that it’s getting harder and harder to profess publicly that you believe in Jesus: this Jesus who calls us to obey Him; this Jesus who says that right is still right, and wrong is still wrong. Yep, it’s getting harder and harder. Part of our ministry team lives in a country where churches being burned down and pastors being locked up, or worse. In other parts of the world, like where I live, the pressure to forsake all that old-fashioned, irrelevant ‘right is right, wrong is wrong’ Jesus-y stuff is mounting through a war of ideas, through a cancel culture, through an open disgust in society toward the things of Christ. What do you do with that? That’s not a theoretical question. It’s a question that each one of us has to answer for ourselves as we live in an increasingly anti-Christian world. What do you do with that? Well, we can either be cowered into submission, through our complicit silence or simply going with the flow, or we can quietly, lovingly, openly stand for Christ and pay the price. Said Jesus… Luke 12:8,9 I tell you, if you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will say that you belong to me. I will say this in the presence of God’s angels. But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will say that you do not belong to me. I will say this in the presence of God’s angels. Standing for Christ will cost you something – perhaps a little, perhaps a lot. But take courage. Don’t be ashamed of Jesus and He won’t be ashamed of you. That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Have you ever felt like trash; as though the world’s chewed you up, spat you out and that’s it?! Everyone else is happy, well-adjusted, getting on with life, and you … you’re out there on the scrap heap. It doesn’t have to be a full-on cataclysmic disaster for us to feel like that. That sense of worthlessness can be eating away us simply because all those people out there seem so much more effective, more successful, than us. They seem to be leading lives of impact while we’re wondering whether anything that we’re doing is having any sort of positive effect whatsoever on people’s lives. There’s a lot of that going around. Or perhaps you’re, you know … past your prime, if I can put it as nicely as that. All those young people – who seem so much brighter, so much faster, into technology that’s simply passed you by – and it feels as though they’re outshining you. So, just on the off chance that there’s a bit of that cancer eating away at you, here’s Jesus on this very subject: Luke 12:6,7 When birds are sold, five small birds cost only two pennies. But God does not forget any of them. Yes, God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many birds. Such a simple picture, yet so powerful. That’s Jesus, here and now, speaking directly to you. And if that weren’t enough, He put His money where His mouth is, so as to speak. He went and had Himself nailed to that Cross for you, so that you could spend eternity with Him. So, don’t be afraid. You’re worth much more to Him than you ever imagined. That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Can I be brutally honest with you today? I don’t think that those of us who call ourselves by Christ’s name – Christians – spend anywhere near enough time simply glorying in the Good News of Jesus. I remember a lecturer of mine way back in my Bible college days, Ian Pennicook.  Whenever he spoke of the Cross of Christ, he would choke up because the sheer magnitude of what Jesus had done for him gripped his whole persona. I remember him one day, choked with tears, saying, “I’m sorry. I can’t simply just talk about the Cross. We have to glory in the Cross.” The gravity of that statement has been with me ever since. Through all the ups and downs, through the drudgery of those mundane days, the sheer glory of the Cross of Christ has filled my heart. But not just that. Because of what Jesus has done for you, me and anyone else who would believe in Him and repent of their sins – turn away from what they know to be wrong – that glory is going to spill over into our lives for all eternity. Philippians 3:21 He will change our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body. Christ can do this by his power, with which he is able to rule everything. All that Christ won on that Cross will become ours by His power for all eternity. I don’t know where you’re at – perhaps today’s one of those mundane days, or maybe you’re up, or maybe you’re in the depths of despair – but whatever sort of day you’re having, remember the Cross. Glory in it. And know that that glory will be yours for ever and ever. That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Who or what we allow to influence our thoughts and actions is something we rarely think about. In this media-driven age, mostly we just consume “stuff” without even thinking. But that’s a dangerous thing to do. Influence – it’s a powerful concept. As we’ve seen over the last couple of days, allowing ourselves to be influenced by the right people is a huge blessing. Godly role models are powerful signposts put there by God to lead us in the right direction. But allowing ourselves to be influenced by the wrong people ultimately ends in disaster. Whether by individuals, by corporate marketing machines, by the prevailing social trends, political tribes, competing dogmas… allowing ourselves to be influenced by what the Apostle Paul calls “enemies of the Cross” simply won’t end well. So how do you discern between good and bad, between godly and ungodly influencers? Simple really: by applying the gold standard: Philippians 3:20 But the government that rules us is in heaven. We are waiting for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from there. You and I, we don’t belong to the world. As Jesus said, just like Him, we’re in the world but not of the world. So, if in doubt, look to Jesus – the gold standard; the heavenly standard. People, corporations, tribes… they can all say what they like, but if we call Jesus the Lord of our life, He is our standard; He is the ruler by whom we measure the other would-be influencers in our lives. And if they don’t measure up, toss them out. It may hurt in the short term, but remember … you’re waiting for Jesus your Saviour to return. That’s what truly matters. And that’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

One of the things that parents fears most is that their child would be led astray by hanging out with the wrong crowd; by allowing the wrong people to become their role models. How many times do you think that God’s seen one of His children led astray by following the example of the wrong people? So, who are your role models? Who are those to whom you open your heart, who you allow to influence how you think and how you behave? And – here’s the kicker – are they worthy of that honor, of that level of trust? Yesterday we chatted about the importance of having the right role models in our lives… so that, as disciples of Jesus (which literally means to be learners), we also become His apprentices with some solid, on the job training. But today … a warning about installing the wrong mentors in our lives. Again, here’s the Apostle Paul on that very thing: Philippians 3:18,19 There are many who live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them. And it makes me cry to tell you about them now. The way they live is leading them to destruction. They have replaced God with their own desires. They do shameful things, and they are proud of what they do. They think only about earthly things. There are people out there who purport to be Christians, who pretend to be faithful followers of Christ – and yet, if you examine the fruits of their labours, as smooth and convincing as they may sound, they’re anything but! Don’t open your heart to the wrong people. Don’t be led astray by these enemies of the Cross! That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

I don’t think there’s any one of us who doesn’t want a better life. I don’t just mean worldly things like comfort and success. Sure, they’re nice. But mostly “a better life” involves changes within – changes in us. As you look back on just this past week, doubtless you’ve had a few, shall we call them … lumps and bumps – things that didn’t go quite the way you’d expected, things that caused friction, that hurt, that – if you had your time over – wouldn’t have turned out the way they did. And in a moment of brutal honesty, we’d each have to admit that we had our part to play in those incidents. That’s why that “better life” involves us learning, changing, overcoming our foibles and failures. Now, there’s a reason that carpentry isn’t taught primarily in the classroom. Instead, young aspiring carpenters are taken on as apprentices, so they can learn the practical skills of their trade on the job. They watch more experienced carpenters, and then copy them over and over again until they become proficient. As things turn out, it’s the same in life generally. This is how the Apostle Paul put it to his friends in Philippi: Philippians 3:17 Brothers and sisters, join together in following my example. Also, learn by watching those who are living the way we showed you. Over the years, on my journey with Jesus, much of what I’ve learned has been “on the job training” – watching those who are wiser and more mature than me walk alongside Jesus; seeing how they react under pressure; being inspired by their humility and their godliness. Call them mentors, call them role models. They have such an important part to play in our lives. That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Question … what does spiritual maturity look like? What’s the identifying marque, the brand, the logo, the thing by which you can immediately see the development of spiritual maturity in a person? Logos like Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Porsche are instantly recognisable. Granted, most of us (me included) will never be able to afford one, but we can recognise them instantly, right? So, let me ask again … what’s the marque of someone who’s growing in spiritual maturity in Christ? How can you recognise them in an instant? Writes the Apostle Paul: Philippians 3:15 All of us who have grown to be spiritually mature should think this way too. Which begs the question … think what way, too? Well, the answer comes in the previous couple of verses: Philippians 3:13,14 Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven. So the marque of spiritual maturity isn’t perfection but rather being focussed on running hard toward the finishing line; not dwelling in the past, but throwing all your energies into becoming more and more Christ-like day by day. If that’s your objective, if that’s what you focus on, if you accept the instruction and the correction of God’s Word and live it out amidst the messiness of life, you can’t help but grow in spiritual maturity. So can I ask you, do you bear that marque? That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

If you were able to join me yesterday, you’ll recall that I promised you some good news about your future. And that’s exactly what I mean to deliver to you today … fantastic news. We’ve all stepped into the new year with resolutions, hopes and dreams that, let’s be honest here, have all but evaporated by mid-January. But this year’s different, because the hope I’m about to share with you isn’t human, but supernatural. The truth I’m about to share isn’t manmade, but God-breathed. The power you’re about to receive isn’t something you have to conjure up from within, but comes from above and will never fail. Ephesians 2:1-5 You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. (NRSV) God means for you to leave the past in the past. May the power of His Word set you completely free from your past. May your chains be broken in Jesus’ name. For though you were dead in your trespasses, you have been made alive in Christ. By grace you have been saved into a completely new life to live – a life lived in the power of His Spirit. That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.