It's the Plastic's fault.

Plastic is so cunning. It was meant to be Humanity's great creation but has become a monster. It is taking over the world and environmentalists wring their hands in despair. Square miles of ocean are covered by plastic sheets, ropes, bottles et-cetera killing and maiming the sea and bird life. From cities to country roads Plastic blows free marring the beauty of the landscape. The strange thing is how this soulless commodity has been given 'life' by the attitude of people.

We blame it for its polluting and destructive power without accepting that we, not it, are the real problem. Plastic bottles don't jump out of cars, nor does bait wrapping sneak of the jetty to swim in the river. We who refuse to accept responsibility to recycle, capture and contain this  material are the dealers in death and despoliation. How often do we excuse ourselves by saying as a bottle is left at the camp site bench, "It's only one bottle.!" But 1 times a 100 left a day over a month mounts up.

We may not want to face the fact that the self-excusing tendency in this and other matters has been listed in literature. It is called 'the Adam syndrome.' Genesis chapter 3 holds the story of the blame game and excusing self of responsibility.  God had provided a safe and secure environment for Adam and Eve to enjoy. Part of the upkeep was  not to plunder two specially reserved trees. Tempted by one of the fruits and at the suggestion of the Devil, Eve took then enticed Adam to eat. I wonder where they threw the seed or the scraps? Pollution had its beginning right here.

Then came the blame game. Confronted by the Creator Eve blamed the Devil and Adam blames her. In actual fact Adam was sidestepping his responsibility and inferring God was to blame. This twisted self-righteousness has resided in the human heart ever since. Variations on the theme fill our courthouse drams and media outlets. From politicians to the general public, from pulpit to pew the use of the 'self-escape clause' dominates. Unfortunately, a day will come when each of us will have to give an account of our life and living, relationships and righteousness before the Person who sees heart, mind and motives.

The problem of Plastic is but a modern day expression of personal reluctance to accept responsibility for our actions. The results are catastrophic. People suffer, our environment withers, innocent creatures die and ultimately our personal integrity and well-being fades. The Bible uses the image of a falling short of a standard. Who set the standard? Genesis 3 records it. It is God's Word, His Standard, His righteousness. Because we not only fall short, we intentionally violate it and then cry "Unfair! Unfair!" when we suffer the consequences.

Is there any hope the problem symbolised by Plastic will be overcome. Yes! But is there any power available to redress the self-excusing heart and its blaming of others? Yes! It begins and ends in  knowing, understanding and accepting the Biblical revelation about God's grace and forgiveness. The problem of the heart and its falling short of God's standard is dealt with in the message of the Cross. The power to be lifted up to meet the standard God has set is in a relationship with Jesus as Lord and Saviour. This is a faith and trust matter. That is why people who make Jesus Lord experience the term 'being made new.'

What then does all this have to do with plastic?  Much. When we follow the Lord we will care for the environment. We will be held accountable and not play the blame game. Also we know that He has promised a better world to come when all the pollution symbolised by plastic is removed and controlled.

Whose Prisoner are you

The apostle Paul stood as a prisoner before Festus and King Agrippa, in Caesarea  The record is in Acts 25-26. They heard the greatest offer the heart can hear. Paul’s news was that God was offering forgiveness for sins committed against Him. The cross was the price paid by Jesus, the One foretold in the Jewish Scriptures. The Roman Governor and the Idumean king, Agrippa seemed to have found this too much for their mind to handle. Festus said Paul was mad. Agrippa teased Paul by inferring he, Agrippa, was almost persuaded. This  sums up two of the three responses to the message of the cross. The cry of Festus still echoes through the lips of others to-day. "You're mad!" Agrippa also has many ‘spiritual’ descendants who, like him, are ‘almost’. In that state they die.

Paul, a shackled prisoner though he was he spoke as a liberated man. Paul knew he had a destiny with Jesus. Here was Paul a prisoners of faith  with an unshakeable hope in the risen Christ. Festus, Agrippa, Bernice and the others failed to realise they too were prisoners. Dressed in regal attire they were inwardly shackled by sin, guilt and fear. They wore the iron chains, not around their body, but around their souls. 

We all are prisoners of something or someone. In speaking to the assembled court Paul testified to the fact he was on trial as a prisoner of hope. Such hope was bound up in the promise God had given to Israel. Later on he repeated this truth to Jewish leaders in Rome: ‘It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’ In effect Paul was a prisoner twice over. One definition is in the literal sense of being in chains for his faith. The other was in the spiritual sense. He was a prisoner of Christ Jesus. On both occasions his hearers were either prisoners of despair, unbelief or playthings of their unholy desires. Paul held on to a promise. They clung to wishful thinking.

Paul a prisoner of Faith spoke to prisoners of unbelief.  In Acts 25 and 26 are such words as ‘hope in what God has promised’: ‘God has raised the dead (referring to Jesus) to bring light into their darkness: to deliver from Satan’s power:’ ‘receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Christ.).’  Prisoners of unbelief throw out their taunts as they flaunt their unrestricted lifestyle. But in the silence  the fears of the future or the 'skeletons' of the past come to haunt. 

The Christian life is a paradox.

When Christ is our Saviour we are set free from condemnation by God's Word.

We are delivered from the kingdom of Darkness.

We are made clean within from the offending lifestyle of our past.

When Jesus is our Lord we discover the chains of gratitude, devotion and hope.

These become and expression of a relationship which leads to Heaven. They also say we are His ambassadors in chains of glory.

It sounds incongruous but it is real. True freedom is only found when we live in the environment for which we were created. For a brief moment a fish out of water might imagine it is free from its watery prison only to die disappointed. Those who reject the bonds of Christ Jesus live under the same disappointment. Their indifference to and rejection of Jesus and His invitation to life appears bold and carefree. Death without hope awaits.

As a prisoner of Christ, Paul found Humanity's true environment. 

This is true for all who are Christ's! 

It leads from this life, through death, into His presence.

Ray Hawkins November 27 2016.

Check the Chains you wear.

A mural from Sheffield, Tas.

Pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Colossians 4:3. Paul the apostle of Christ.

When the apostle Paul gave his testimony before Festus and King Agrippa, they heard the greatest offer the heart can hear. Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles included the news that God was offering forgiveness for sins committed against Him. The Roman Governor and the Idumean king Agrippa seemed to have found this too much for their mind to handle. Festus said Paul was mad and Agrippa teased Paul by inferring he, Agrippa, was almost persuaded. This seems to sum up two of the three responses to the message of the cross. The cry of Festus still echoes through many lips to-day. Agrippa also has many ‘spiritual’ descendants who, like him, are ‘almost’, and that’s the state in which they die.

Paul, a shackled prisoner without any earthly abode stood before them. Prisoner though he was he spoke as a liberated man. Paul knew he had hope. It included a place and a kingdom with Jesus who was the One promised by Scripture. How preposterous it must have seemed! The Lord’s people are often in situations similar to Paul They are prisoners of faith but have a hope in a better world to come. Festus, Agrippa, Bernice and the others failed to realise they too were prisoners. Dressed in regal attire outwardly they were inwardly shackled by sin, guilt, shame and fear. They wore not the iron chains around their body but far stronger chains imprisoned their souls. 

We all are prisoners of something or someone. In speaking to the assembled court Paul testified to the fact he was on trial as a prisoner of hope. Such hope was bound up in the promise God had given to Israel. Later on he repeated this truth to Jewish leaders in Rome: ‘It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’ In effect Paul was a prisoner twice over. One was is in the literal sense of being in chains for his faith. The other was in the spiritual sense by which he was a prisoner of Christ Jesus. On both occasions his hearers were either prisoners of despair, unbelief or playthings of their unholy desires. Paul held on to a promise, they clung to wishful thinking for better things tomorrow.

As prisoners of Christ we are His ambassadors in chains declaring the freedom we have in Jesus. It sounds incongruous but it is real. True freedom is only found when we live in the environment for which we were created. For a brief moment a fish out of water might imagine it is free from its watery home only to die disillusioned. Those who reject the environment of Christ Jesus live under the same disappointment. Imagining themselves free of the Lord’s perimeters they are actually playthings of fads, fashion and futility. We were created to know, enjoy, serve and worship our Creator. To cast that relationship aside causes the soul’s darkness, self-delusion, meaninglessness and a sense of foreboding about death.

As prisoners of Faith speaking to prisoners of unbelief, what we offer can make it worthwhile for them to exchange ‘chains.’  In Acts 25 and 26 are such words as ‘hope in what God has promised’: ‘God has raised the dead (referring to Jesus) to bring light into their darkness: to deliver from Satan’s power:’ ‘receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Christ.).’  We must always see beyond the taunts prisoners of unbelief throw our way as they flaunt their seemingly unrestricted lifestyle. As Proverbs says of them, there is a way which seems right unto man but the end of it is death. (Proverbs 16:25) For the prisoners of Christ the end is Life eternal and beautiful. Therefore from one prisoner to another heed these words, ‘As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. (Colossians 4:1.)

Being the Lord Jesus’ prisoner has its limitations morally and ethically. At times we can feel a little despondent as others advance within the World’s scene, accumulating honours, possessions and money while we are despised and ignored. It can hurt when they look with scorn or pity on you as you live under the direction of the Master. Our spiritual sanity can only be assured as we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ through His word. He must be our life, our hope, our true freedom and our message. 

Reflection: What makes being a prisoner of Christ Jesus worthwhile?

Request: May my commitment to you Lord Jesus be something that causes someone somewhere to see it as a magnificent madness. Amen

©Ray Hawkins 31^st July 2016.

Environment and the Cross

Key verse. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed (then) the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8:19,21.

Six days it took for God to create the world and proclaim it very good. One moment of rebellion shattered it all. The account in Genesis chapters 1-3 is simple, sometimes terse and to the point. Adam’s sin is so profound it not only enveloped his offspring, it tainted all of creation. Yahweh then cursed the ground which turned some of what was pronounced “good” into thorns and weeds. Compounding this tragedy we are informed in Ephesians 2:2 that Satan set up his control centre ‘in the air.’ Since that time the universe has been under the sentence of extinction, “They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded” (Psalm 102:26). Climate change is evidence of this!

“If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes, how much less man, who is vile and corrupt and drinks up evil like water” (Job 15:15-16)! Why are the heavens impure? Many of the constellations, including the signs of the Zodiac, became objects of worship and subjects of idolatry. “The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me (God) to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18).

Further, the actions of Humankind has polluted the very ground it has walked upon. “Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it” (Numbers 35:33). It becomes very apparent that Creation has been in bondage and under a curse since that day Adam violated his trust around the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. How easy it is for us to take lightly the doctrine of sin and its wicked and degrading power. This is part of the reason why the Scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments reveal a new heaven and a new earth coming. When that takes place righteousness and peace will rule.

Before the Day of the Lord ushers in such a wonderful new Creation, the curse on the old creation must be lifted. The prince of the power of the air must be dethroned. The polluted land, saturated by innocent and unrequited bloo

d must be atoned for. How could this happen? Who could bear the curse, purify the heavens and atone for the land? Of course we know it could only be the Creator. In becoming a curse upon the tree (Galatians 3:13) Jesus lifted from all Humankind and Creation the horror begun in Eden. The tree on Calvary provided the ‘fruit’ for the condemned sinners that would heal them of the curse. It also provided the power to transform the environment, one day, into atmosphere of Eden. Isaiah 11:6-9 describes that time, usually named the Millennium, “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them …The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest… the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord…”

In the Romans’ passage the Apostle gives redeemed creation personification as it anticipates the day of liberation. Similar to us who are saved and looking forward to its ultimate fulfilment, creation awaits the promise of God written in Isaiah’s passage. It’s as though creation knows something more about the future glory than we do, even with the completed Scriptures. It is waiting for the day when the sons of God are revealed. That surely points to the completion of God’s purposes in salvation and purification. What a wonderful day it will be when all the saved enter into God’s millennium kingdom, for which we have prayed in the Lord’s Prayer!

When Jesus was grappling with all the issues of sin, curses and judgement the heavens covered the scene with its dark shroud. It was as though it too was ashamed of its part in the cross. What a change Sunday morning of the resurrection would have brought. Salvation was for Humankind and a return to Eden’s pre-fall time was assured for Creation.

Reflection. Do I have a sense of expectancy similar to Creation’s about enjoying God’s reign on earth with his throne set in Jerusalem?

Cross thread. My word that goes out from my mouth it will not return empty, but will accomplish what I desire…Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed. Isaiah 55:11,13.