Current Word of the Month

Septmber 2010: God’s covenant and His law

Already in the Old Testament the Lord promised to make a covenant through Jeremiah. He also described this covenant in greater detail, saying: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts.” Then He gave the promise: “… and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” This is a reference to the covenant of the Holy Spirit: on the day of our Holy Sealing, we were accepted by God and incorporated into His covenant. Thereby we became His people and were given His promise: “I will be their God.” Here it says that His law is written in our minds. The people of Israel in the Old Testament had a law too, namely the Ten Commandments, as well as further prescriptions given by the Lord. These had been chiselled into stone. Things are different with the new covenant which the Lord has made with us: He has written His law into our minds and hearts.

Let me describe this divine law. The first important element of it is the law of love. God loves us and He wants us to love Him in return. This is a law He has written into our hearts. If we truly love the Lord, we will not have the heart to disappoint Him. We will want to have fellowship with Him, to be close to Him. And we will bring our offerings, not out of obligation or duty but because our heart urges us to do so. That is the law of love. And this law of love also dictates that we love one another. We will then endeavour to support one another and try to make things easier for each other. We will also pray for one another and have empathy for those who are sad.

There are still other aspects to the divine law, notably the law of faith. The Lord once expressed that if we truly have faith, we can move mountains. Faith is a real power. Nothing can hinder us if we are truly motivated by a strong faith. In the Bible we read of many people who turned to the Lord Jesus because they had health concerns and other problems. And in many cases they were helped. Often the Lord Jesus told them: “Your faith has made you well!”

Still another aspect is the law of divine grace. In the Scriptures it says that God gives grace to the humble. If we turn to Him in humbleness and in the knowledge that we cannot accomplish anything without Him, then we can receive grace.

There is also the law of forgiveness. The Lord Jesus once told His Apostles: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” If we stay with the Apostles, we too can have our sins forgiven.

Finally there is also the law of hope. We know that the Lord Jesus will come again in order to take us to Himself. This law has been written into our hearts, and we expect the fulfilment of this promise daily. All of these laws have been written into our hearts. Let us never forget them. After all, they constitute the covenant which God has made with us. He is our God and we are His people!

(From a divine service by the Chief Apostle)

Separate Churches?

"Is it wrong for a Christian husband and wife to attend separate churches?"

A husband and a wife attending separate churches is a situation that is more common than one might think. It’s also common for the children of such a couple to be divided between the two churches, thereby creating a rift in the family that is never healthy. In order to determine whether or not it is “wrong” for a husband and wife to attend separate churches, we must first look at marriage as a relationship instituted by God.

Genesis 2:24 tells us God created man and woman to become “one flesh” when they marry, not two separate beings who go their own separate ways. There is a unity in marriage which is unique and holy. Moreover, marriage is the picture of Christ and His church (believers) as described in Ephesians 5:31-32. The marriage covenant between a man and a woman is symbolic of the covenant between Christ and those for whom He died. His is an everlasting covenant and one that is holy and sacred, just as marriage is to be holy, sacred and unbroken. This unity of two people into one reaches its most sacred in the spiritual realm, where the two are to be of one mind regarding the basic doctrines of Christianity – God, Christ, sin, salvation, heaven/hell, etc. This unity of understanding through the ministry of the Holy Spirit unites a husband and wife in a bond unlike any other on earth.

While it’s possible for a husband and wife to have differing tastes as far as music, preaching or worship styles, children’s programs, etc., none of these things are significant enough to break up the family into two parts so they can attend different churches based on tastes. It is clear that if both churches are Bible-based and Christ-honoring, there is no reason why one spouse can’t bend a little and put his/her personal preferences aside. An even better alternative is for the couple to join together to seek a church where the Word of God is preached as the only guide for faith and practice, where the entire family can learn the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and where the family can fellowship with like-minded believers. In this, the husband, as the spiritual head of the family, should take the lead and make the final decision, lovingly taking his wife’s input into consideration.

Sadly, the two-church family most often crops up in marriages where one spouse was raised Roman Catholic and the other was raised in a Protestant denomination. In situations such as these, it would have been wise for the couple not to marry. Please read the following article: Should Christians of different denominations date or marry? If a marriage has already taken place, the couple should strive for spiritual unity. Two people entrenched in their different doctrinal positions often find it very difficult to compromise and reconcile, but with God, all things are possible. A couple in such a situation may be forced to attend different churches, especially if one or both spouses consider the other spouse's beliefs to be unbiblical. In such a situation, both spouses should commit to praying that truth be revealed and spiritual unity be achieved.

These doctrinal conflicts must be resolved in a family before true unity can be achieved. A couple attending different churches must be willing to hold everything they are taught up to the light of Scripture and be ready to discard anything that is contradicted by the Bible. They must “test all things and hold fast to that which is true” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Recommended Resource: Fit to Be Tied: Making Marriage Last a Lifetime by Bill Hybels.

---

NAC Men's Conference 2010

Walk-a-Thon 2010 Update

Current Word of the Month

May 2010: The finger of God

The Lord wanted to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt through Moses. The Hebrews suffered greatly there. Exploited by the Pharaoh, they were forced to work in the fields, manufacture clay bricks, and build cities and grain reserves for the Egyptians. Despite all their hard work, the Hebrews lacked even the barest of necessities.

But then the Lord intervened. Moses was to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt and away from the Pharaoh’s sphere of influence. But he did not want to let them go. Then God sent ten plagues upon the land. But each time a plague had passed, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he would not let the people go. Many of the plagues could also be replicated by the magicians of the Pharaoh, and perhaps this gave him the impression that they were not particularly difficult feats. But then the plagues became more and more severe, and the magicians could no longer replicate them. They told the Pharaoh that they could do no more, because they recognised the finger of God in these events. In other words: God had intervened, and human beings could do nothing more. We all know the outcome of the story: the day came when Pharaoh had to let the people of Israel go after all (cf. Exodus 1-12).

Let us take a look at ourselves and see what this might mean for our time. Is the finger of God still at work today? I say: “Yes indeed, the Lord still intervenes today!” Any of us can experience this when we approach the Lord with a believing heart. The finger of God still reveals itself today. But there is nothing magical about it, as the magicians of the ancient Egyptians supposed. Rather it is God’s powerful will to save that is at work here!

Following are two examples. Many have been invited to attend divine services in the New Apostolic Church and have thus come into contact with the work of God. Therein I see the finger of God. Later on, one or the other has also been sealed and has thus received the gift of the Holy Spirit. This too is the finger of God. The finger of God is also revealed in our everyday lives in many different ways. All we have to do is open our hearts.

The magicians of old recognised the finger of God by the fact that it restricted their own power. Today we recognise the finger of God when we are together in the divine service. Suddenly we hear something that moves us deeply and we feel that the Lord is trying to touch us. He is speaking to us directly. That is the finger of God in His word. If we recognise the finger of God in this and act in accordance with it, our faith will be acknowledged. We can also discern the finger of God in prayer. When we pray in a truly intensive fashion we can feel just how close the Lord really is, and we can be sure that He hears us. Then the finger of God becomes evident in His presence. If we pray superficially we will not be able to perceive the finger of God. To feel it we need to pray intensively and wrestle for the help of God – then it will indeed touch us and we will find that our prayers are answered. The Lord guides us, and everything He does is for our good and our blessing.

The finger of God is to be found everywhere, even in our time! Imagine the moment when the Lord will complete His work. The finger of God will be manifested again and we will hear His voice that says: “Now come, you blessed of the Lord, and inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you!”

(From a divine service by the Chief Apostle)

NAC Men's Conference 2010

Cartoon of the Day

Staying Focused

Question: "How can I stay focused on Christ?"

In our fast-paced world, it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind and lose sight of our true purpose in life - the worship of God. Each believer, in striving to remain focused upon God, has his or her own way of keeping that focus. Each individual's needs are different. One person might memorize a Scripture verse each week; another might have a private Bible study each morning; yet another might have a goal of sharing the Gospel message with at least one person every week. Each of these things keeps Christ at the forefront of one's mind. Also, each of these activities has something in common. Each is something that believers can do in order to keep their focus where it needs to be. This is surrender—surrender to Jesus Christ, to God. Surrendering one's whole life: needs, worries, pains, joys, praises. Surrendering the physical, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual. Consider the following verses: Romans 12:1 (NLT): "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?" Luke 9:23: "Then he said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.'" Romans 6:13: "Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God." A surrendered life is all about trust. It is trusting that God has your best interests at heart. It is trusting that His Word can be believed and taken at face value. It is trusting that all of your needs will be met. Surrender takes the focus off of self and places it upon Christ, and is demonstrated by obedience. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, writes, "Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Nothing else works. All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment and self-destruction." I personally can think of no better way to stay focused as a believer than to completely surrender my life to my Lord and Savior.

Recommended Resource: The Keys to Spiritual Growth by John MacArthur.

Attention ALL Youths

Youth Walk-a-Thon 2010

Cartoon of the Day

Religion vs. Spirituality

What is the difference between Religion and Spirituality?

---

Before the difference between religion and spirituality is explored, we must first define the two terms. Religion can be defined as “belief in God or gods to be worshipped, usually expressed in conduct and ritual” or “any specific system of belief, worship, etc., often involving a code of ethics.” Spirituality can be defined as “the quality or fact of being spiritual, non-physical” or “predominantly spiritual character as shown in thought, life, etc.; spiritual tendency or tone.” To put it briefly, religion is a set of beliefs and rituals that claim to get a person in a right relationship with God, and spirituality is a focus on spiritual things and the spiritual world instead of physical / earthly things.

The most common misconception about religion is that Christianity is just another religion like Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. Sadly, many who claim to be adherents of Christianity do practice Christianity as if it were a religion. To many, Christianity is nothing more than a set of rules and rituals that a person has to observe in order to go to heaven after death. That is not true Christianity. True Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ. True Christianity is not a religion, but rather it is having a right relationship with God by receiving Jesus Christ as the Savior-Messiah, by grace through faith. Yes, Christianity does have “rituals” to observe (e.g. baptism and communion). Yes, Christianity does have “rules” to follow (e.g. do not murder, love one another, etc.). However, these rituals and rules are not the essence of Christianity. The rituals and rules of Christianity are the result of the salvation of the Christian. When we receive salvation through Jesus Christ, we are baptized as a proclamation of that faith. We observe communion in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. We follow a list of do’s and don’ts out of love for God and gratitude for what He has done and as a result of the influence of the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives.

The most common misconception about spirituality is that there are many forms of spirituality, and all are equally valid. Meditating in unusual physical positions, communing with nature, seeking conversation with the spirit world, etc. may seem to be “spiritual,” but they are in fact false spirituality. True spirituality is possessing the Holy Spirit of God as a result of receiving salvation through Jesus Christ. True spirituality is the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in a person’s life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Spirituality is all about becoming more like God, who is spirit (John 4:24), and having our character conformed to His image (Romans 12:1-2).

What religion and spirituality have in common is that they both can be false methods of having a relationship with God. Religion tends to substitute the heartless observance of rituals for a genuine relationship with God. Spirituality tends to substitute connection with the spirit world for a genuine relationship with God. Both can be, and often are, false paths to God. At the same time, religion can be valuable in the sense that it points to the fact that there is a God, and we are somehow accountable to Him. The only true value of religion is its ability to point out that we have all fallen short and are in need of a Savior. Spirituality can be valuable in that it points out that the physical world is not all there is. Human beings are not only material, but also are comprised of a soul-spirit. There is a spiritual world around us of which we should be aware. The true value of spirituality is that it points to the fact that there is something and someone beyond this physical world, to which we need to connect.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of both religion and spirituality. Jesus is the One to whom we are accountable – which true religion points to. Jesus is the One to whom we need to connect – which true spirituality points to.

Cartoon of the Day

Programme of Activities 2010

Cartoon of the Day