Miscellaneous Archives - Page 2 of 3

Prayers Born in Heaven

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

Recently I came across an intriguing description of prayer – or more accurately, a description of a certain kind of prayer. It was referred to as a “child of heaven.” I read this in Frederick Godet’s Commentary on John’s Gospel. Godet was reflecting on Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 15:7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.” In doing so he mentioned that prayers growing out of meditation on the words of Jesus are “the child of heaven.” What, exactly, did he mean? […]

Shopping in the Spirit

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

Recently while preaching on the Christian’s new life in the Spirit the thought spontaneously came to mind that it is possible to do something as mundane as shopping “in the Spirit.” I voiced the idea at the time, and have continued to think about it since. I was speaking about life in the Spirit as a new way of existing when the thought originally came to mind. I was saying that being “in the Spirit” is part of the new order of things in Christ. If we belong to Christ, then we have his Spirit within us (Romans 8:9). He […]

Knowing God Intimately

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

Recently I have been prodded into thinking about what it means to know God “intimately.” I was stirred to do so firstly by our pastor. In a sermon on 1 John 2:12-14 he stated three times in as many minutes that the distinctive feature of a spiritually mature person (a spiritual “father”) is that they have an “intimate personal knowledge of God.” Then a week or so later I was reading a chapter in D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ book The Christian Soldier and came across this statement We are utterly dependent upon God and upon our Lord Jesus Christ; and we […]

A Day of Reckoning

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

The third Bible passage that came to mind as I thought about the Marriage Amendment Act was a verse in the Book of Isaiah. I had been reading the early chapters of Isaiah in preparation for theological college lectures and there was a verse from the second chapter that insistently impressed itself upon me as I thought of the step our Parliament had taken in validating same sex marriages. The particular verse I am referring to is Isaiah 2:12. As rendered in the NIV translation it reads, “The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and […]

Did Jesus Care?

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

The second Bible passage that shaped my response to the Marriage Amendment Act provoked a very different question from those discussed in our last Ezra Story. It forced me to ask, “Did Jesus really care?” The passage I am referring to is Matthew 19:3-12. It records an incident in which Jesus is asked for his ruling or views on divorce. Some Pharisees approached and tested him with the question, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” (v. 3). There were conflicting rabbinical traditions regarding this matter – one conservative and the other […]

Is Sadness Enough?

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

Recently our New Zealand Parliament passed a law amending the Marriage Act to allow for same sex marriages. Like many others in our country – both Christian and non-Christian – I was deeply saddened by this action. But, as a follower of Jesus – more than that, as someone who is “in” Jesus – is that enough? Is “sadness” an adequate response to something that attacks the foundation of God’s order for his world? Or should I be feeling or doing something much more than that? These are questions that I often asked myself in the days leading up to […]

Two Parallel Lives

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

In the last Ezra Story I mentioned that there were two occasions during Nola’s recent hospitalisation when we were “enthralled with Jesus.” The first, which I wrote about last time, was connected with the way Jesus both gave and withheld himself from those who showed interest in him while he was on earth. The second related to the way he kept in contact with his Father during his time with us. This second theme is one that surfaces frequently in the Gospel according to John. Jesus repeatedly speaks of his awareness of his Father’s presence (John 8:16, 29), of doing […]

Enthralled With Jesus

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

The last three weeks have been difficult. On the evening of Good Friday my wife Nola was admitted to hospital suffering severe muscle spasms. They were like a total body cramp, gripping her with intense pain from head to toe for periods of 10-15 minutes every half hour or so. For the next eleven days she was watched, examined and subjected to a battery of tests. The doctors were stumped. They couldn’t detect anything that might lie at the root of her problem, and the best they could do was dull the pain with morphine derivatives so the spasms were […]

Our Meeting Place with God

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

From time to time I find myself sinking into a state that I describe as paralysing passivity. It is an awful condition, one in which I am drained of energy, imagination and initiative, harassed by fears, and hopelessly self-absorbed. It would be easy for me – and for others – to dismiss this as a manifestation of a depressive temperament. Without denying those tendencies, there are too many things about this state that point to another explanation. Years of trying to understand and overcome it has convinced me that it is largely the result of an overly introspective and subjective […]

Touched or Transformed?

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2016Miscellaneous

In the past two weeks Nola and I have enjoyed a double visit from friends we have not seen for years. We came to know them when they lived in Dunedin but latterly they have been serving as short term missionaries in Africa. This couple share our concern to see people know and experience God deeply. In fact, they expressed their conviction that the work we are doing through the Ezra Ministry is needed in Africa just as it is in New Zealand. Where they have worked these past years, emerging leaders are often absorbed with status and higher learning […]