I will be away for a large part of May and this blog will be taking a break. 

Today I want to leave you with the first verses from Genesis and the start of John. These are beautiful and vital verses to focus on.

Genesis 1 1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

3-5 God spoke: “Light!”
    And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
    and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
    he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.

6-8 God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
    separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
    from the water above sky.
And there it was:
    he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.

9-10 God spoke: “Separate!
    Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
    And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
    He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.

11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
    of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
    And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
    all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
    God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.

14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
    Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
    Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
    And there it was.

16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
    to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
    and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
    to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
    to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.

20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
    Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
    all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
    God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
    Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.

24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
    cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
    wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
    God saw that it was good.

26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
    reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
    the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
    and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
    he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
    He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
    “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
    for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”

29-30 Then God said, “I’ve given you
    every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
    given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
    everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
    And there it was.

31 God looked over everything he had made;
    it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
2 Heaven and Earth were finished,
    down to the last detail.

2-4 By the seventh day
    God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
    he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
    He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
    all the creating God had done.

This is the story of how it all started,
    of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

John 1-2 The Word was first,
    the Word present to God,
    God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
    in readiness for God from day one.

3-5 Everything was created through him;
    nothing—not one thing!—
    came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out.

6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

2 Peter 2

One of the things that troubles me most about those seeking to follow Jesus is the willingness of some to seek guidance from the multitude of books written to interpret the scriptures and tell people how to live. 

Some of these books present a balanced view and delve deep into the old language translations of the Bible to understand the original meaning of the various Bible passages. These books carefully study the context of the writing and seek to glean from research the message of the Bible passages.

Other books have little research backing and quote very little from the Bible. When there are quotes they are often heavily redacted to show the wording the author wants you to get from the passages. But if you read the actual Bible verses and the verses around them, the meaning of the passages is very different.

In the early hours of this morning, I asked God what I should write about today. This is what He laid on my heart.

Encountering those under the grip of false teaching

When I was a young Mum, still heavily impacted by the trauma of my childhood, I became friends with two women who later turned out to be very abusive. I have written about them before, so I won’t say any more here.

One thing I remember these women talking about in Bible Study was a book they were reading on the New Age Movement. This book swept wide in what it considered New Age, even to including many non-Western, well established, Christian practices. 

At the time I listened and considered what was said. It didn’t ring true, but I was young, and these women were good at putting me down and playing to my trauma. As a result, at the time I didn’t critically analyse their words as much as I would normally have done.

I half believed some of the misinformation and rejected the rest.

False teaching around Revelation

At one stage we studied Revelation. The most amazing rubbish came out at this point from another book they had read. It horrified and frightened me. 

After God told me to end the friendship with these women, I studied some units of theology through a respected Bible College. There I learned how to read the Bible properly, how to look at original meanings, translations and context of the words and society of the time. I learned how to seek God for His instructions in the words of the Bible.

Later in my studies I studied Revelation. What I learned then couldn’t have been more different to what these two women had read from their books!

A few years ago, I wrote a blog series on Revelation from my own reading and understanding of Revelation. What I found when I studied it myself was the continual message that things will happen in life, things may look hopeless, but God is always there. God loves us. God will triumph. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead and He will return. 

Those under the influence of false teachers

In the past week I have been remembering those women and their rigid adherence to books of suspect veracity that they took as the truth. They took these as the truth even when the Bible contradicted what they believed from the books.

I asked God why I learned those things from these ignorant women. He pointed out that I needed to understand some of the misinformation people are being taught and are believing so that I can know how to help people find their way to the true path following Jesus.

Some of the false teachings causing people to stray away from God

Some of the things I remember from what these women said are:

The Mark of the Beast. When the pandemic reached the phase of well researched and tested vaccinations I wondered why so many Christian people were against vaccination. I wondered why some people believed they were being implanted with a chip when they received the vaccination. One day I commented to a friend that I wondered if fundamentalist Christians were foolishly calling the vaccination the mark of the beast. She responded that this belief was rife amongst many Christian groups. I was appalled. God gave scientists the wisdom and insight to develop vaccines to help people and supposed followers of God rejected this because of false teaching.

The Antichrist. I had wondered why the world had gone so mad. Why so many obviously unchristian, unsuitable, mentally unwell men were being voted into power in some large countries. I couldn’t understand how Christians could tolerate the unchristian, narcissistic, self-absorbed, uncaring, uncompassionate behaviour of these men. Then God reminded me. One of the things these women talked about was that the book they were reading on Revelation spoke about a terrible leader who would be replaced by a wonderful leader. But the wonderful leader would be the antichrist! There are people out there who believe these terrible men have to be in power because anyone better will be the antichrist.

Even the pandemic has been stretched to fit into the chapters of Revelation. Given the horrible events of the past such as the Black Death, the Two World Wars and The Spanish Influenza epidemic do people really think the recent pandemic is the worst we can suffer? How about seeing it as God trying to reign in the worst excesses of capitalism and its companion globalism? 

Reality and how to stick to it

We will always find trouble in whatever time we live in. There are always wars and rumours of wars. There are always societal disruptions, discord and unbelief. The more you try to second guess God, the less likely it is you will be ready for Jesus’ return.

Educate yourself on history and sociology. Understand the circular nature of the world’s troubles. Understand how societies work. 

Read your Bible. Every day at least. My Bible used to have a space on a bookshelf until it occurred to me that it was never in a position to be put away. It never needs dusting because I constantly handle it. I am no more special than the next person, but I do believe in reading my Bible and seeking God’s guidance through it. 

Pray continually

To have a relationship with God you have to communicate with Him. Just as you need to talk to your friends and family in order to have a relationship with them. 

Pray. Prayer is communication. You talk and you listen. You need to do this as often as possible. Dedicated prayer time is hard for people to do, but pray continually does not mean you sit all day in prayer, it means you send up those arrow prayers constantly. You ask God for instructions. You listen to what He has to say. 

You will learn more about following God from communication with God than you will from reading the multitude of so called Christian books. 

So often I sit down to write my blog for the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday and write on that quiet time of the Saturday. The day when the followers of Jesus hid in fear and confusion. Not fully understanding what had happened they didn’t know what to believe. 

Over the years I have found this day has become for me a reflective day. I sit in the space between the event and its outcome.

It is always hard to sit in the space of waiting. We all want answers. Waiting without answers is hard.

Yet wait we must.

Not just between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but at any time in our lives when we are confused and uncertain about where to go.

I have added the words to Psalm 51 to the end of this blog.

It seemed the correct verse for today. For us to read and consider all that Jesus achieved for us on the cross.

For us to read and consider who much God loves us that He had a plan for our salvation. That we can be washed and be whiter than snow.

Many blessings to you.

Psalm 51 NIV

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Saviour,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.

May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Luke 19:28-40

Today is Palm Sunday.

On this day we remember that Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey. 

People cheered and greeted Him with joy and adulation.

They placed palm leaves and cloaks on the road in front of Him. A sign of deep respect. They hailed Him as their Saviour. Then they turned against Him.

We have only days to go before we remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

Lent is nearly over.

Maybe you have used this time to reflect on what Jesus did for you. Maybe it has been life as usual.

Whatever you have done, we are approaching that time of year when we pause to remember the extent of Jesus’ love for us and His obedience to God.

Here in Queensland the schools have broken up for the Easter School Holidays. People are thronging to my area to enjoy the last of the Summer warmth and the beautiful beaches.

Thoughts are frequently on holidays, relaxation and enjoyment. Not on Jesus’ death on the Cross and his Resurrection and the joy that brought to the world.

When my family lived in Europe, like most other people we would go away for the Easter School Holidays. We celebrated Easter in many different places. I remember the Good Fridays sitting in wherever we were staying on holiday and reading the Bible and discussing how Jesus died on the cross for our sins. 

When we first were away at Easter, I was still caught up in the religiosity trap of believing I had to go to church to follow Jesus. Those Good Friday’s where we sat as a family and remembered God’s love for us, Jesus’ love for us, and the plan for our redemption were more meaningful for me than any Good Friday service I had attended in my life.

I realised that Good Friday is about my personal response to the events of Easter and my personal relationship with God.

One thing that stands out for me this Palm Sunday is the fickleness of the crowd. 

The crowd were more than willing to welcome Jesus as some great Saviour and King but were just as willing to join in demanding his crucifixion only a few days later.

The people of that time were no worse or better than us. I don’t believe we are any more dedicated to Jesus than they were.

We so easily turn away to what is convenient. To what makes life easier. To what reduces the difficulties in life. To what feels safe.

I wonder if we had been the crowd in Jerusalem, celebrating the arrival of our Saviour, if we would have been any better.

My thoughts today are about how I can show up in my life with courage to acknowledge my faith, even when it is uncomfortable to do so. 

I am not referring to writing a blog, that is easy to do given the anonymity of the internet.

I am referring to going out into the world and acknowledging to people I stand next to that I believe in God and that Jesus died for my sins.

This Palm Sunday, let us encourage each other to have courage. Let us encourage each other to praise Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and to stand against those calling for his death later in the week.