Category: New Testament

Posted in Galatians, Psalms

What Happened?

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

What has happened to all your joy?” Galatians 3:15

Joy is a good measure of our Christianity because true joy is only found in the presence of God. (Psalm 16:11) Apparently the early joy the Galatian church experienced had faded. In the text above, Paul is bringing this fact to their attention so he can get to the source of the problem.

They were still living; they were still religious; and maybe even still zealous for the faith, but the joy was gone. What happened? Have you ever been there? Still doing what you’re supposed to be doing, but over time, losing the heartfelt energy that comes from the joy of the Lord?

Paul identifies the freedom the gospel brings as the source of releasing God’s joy, and the loss of that freedom as the block to it. Jesus came to free them from the slavery of a performance identity, so they could know what it is to be the beloved children of God. (Galatians 4:6-7)

They knew this joy once but are now being seduced by teachers who are preaching a different gospel. The gospel these teachers are promoting makes more sense because it involves them keeping more rules and “earning their keep” instead of the free gift of grace through faith alone. Paul exposes the deception and calls them to return to the true gospel and to stand firm in it. The central verse of Galatians is chapter five, verse one: “It was for freedom that Christ set you free. Stand firm therefore in your freedom and do not be enslaved again by a yoke of bondage.”

Do you know you’re a beloved child of God with the full rights of an heir of God? (Galatians 4:6) If you understand the gospel correctly it should make you laugh. Paul says that we, like Isaac (whose name means laughter), were born of a promise. (Galatians 4:28) Sinners deserving death were saved, not by any work of their own, but just by believing God’s love and promise to us in Christ!

May God restore to each of us the joy of our salvation and may that joy overflow to all those who are around us every day.

Posted in 1Corinthians, Acts, John, Matthew

A Sign to Examine

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31

Usually in church we are called to believe in our hearts something that we can’t see with our eyes. But there is one case where God encourages us to examine something we can see with the logic of our minds – the resurrection. God has “furnished proof” that Jesus is the judge of all mankind by raising Him from the dead.

In John 2 Jesus clears the temple and the religious leaders ask, “What sign do you show us as your authority for doing these things?” (John 2:18) The only person on earth that might have authority to move temple furniture around was the high priest. Outside of him, only God himself would have that kind of authority. “Who do you think you are?” is what they’re asking. Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) The sign He gave of His authority was the resurrection. In Matthew 12 again He is asked for a sign but replies that no sign will be given except the sign of His death and resurrection as prefigured in the story of Jonah. (Matthew 12:39-40)

Paul says that all of Christianity hinges on the actual, historical resurrection of Jesus. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins… if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1Corinthians 15:17-19) I’ve heard people say that they’d be a Christian “even if it wasn’t true.” Paul wouldn’t be. He’s only in if it’s true and to him it’s true because of a historical proof that God gave. Paul didn’t believe in Jesus because he was afraid he’d go to hell if he didn’t, and he didn’t ultimately believe because of the subjective encounter he had on the road to Damascus. He believed because it was the truth; not just his truth, but everyone’s. The evidence is the resurrection.

Posted in Luke

Living in the Party

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.” Luke 15:28-30

There is a party going on, but the older brother refused to enter it because it wasn’t the party he wanted. There are people at the party, but not the friends he would have chosen to be there. He has become a victim of his own sense of entitlement and is now alone in the isolation of self-pity.

In His great love the Father has thrown an extravagant party for the human race called “grace.” Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we can experience forgiveness of sins, new life, the assurance of heaven when we die, and a present fellowship with the Holy Spirit no matter what circumstances we’re living in.

But often this isn’t good enough for us! We want God to prove His love by doing certain things and healing or saving certain people (“my friends”) within the time frame we’ve given Him. We can feel like we deserve this because we’ve been faithful and obedient, prayed and believed “right,” or because we go to church regularly and even give money.

We don’t try to be ungrateful, entitlement just creeps up on us and makes us feel like we’re somehow being cheated. Then we find ourselves, even as Christians who love God, living outside of the party.

The father is not put off by the older brother’s self-pity. He goes out to him and reminds him of all the blessings that are his: “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” He explains that the party he’s throwing is not an endorsement of the prodigal’s sin, but a celebration of redemption. “We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

“We” are supposed to be celebrating; God and us, because of the grace He has lavished on us and on all who repent and believe in Christ. Are you missing the party God’s throwing because it isn’t exactly the party you wanted? Why not surrender your expectations to God, lay down that sense of entitlement that comes from self-righteousness, and enter fully into the celebration of God’s grace today?

Posted in Philippians, Psalms

The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23

Sometimes it’s a sacrifice to give thanks. Maybe it’s because things aren’t going well right now, or because God hasn’t done the big thing you’re asking Him to do. Yet the word of God encourages us to give thanks even when we’re not in the mood, and it still honors Him. My number one defense against discouragement is thanksgiving. When I find myself down I will recount God’s blessings starting with salvation, then family, health, job, and every blessing I can think of. It’s difficult to be both depressed and thankful at the same time.

Thanksgiving brings us quickly into God’s Presence. “I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart…” (Psalm 100:4) No wonder our sacrifice of thanksgiving prepares the way for God’s salvation. Think about human relationships. Isn’t it easy to give to a thankful person and hard to give to someone who takes you and your gifts for granted? I think it’s the same way for God. He encourages us to pray when we are anxious about anything and “with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6) Before we have even received what we are praying for, we are to give thanks. For what? How about for the last time God answered your prayer, or for who God is and that He even cares about our needs, or for the promises He has given that we can believe and pray back to Him as we ask.

The word says that after we turn our anxiety into prayer with thanksgiving, “the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) I wonder if thanksgiving is the key to breaking through to peace. Prayer without thanksgiving can actually just be worrying in front of God. Thanksgiving brings in an element of faith and victory even if we haven’t seen the answer yet.

Posted in Romans

Taking Time to Give Thanks

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine – where are they?’” Luke 17:15-17

We glorify God when we recognize what He has done for us by giving thanks. God’s not looking for a repayment which would be impossible, but He is looking for our sincere thanks for the good things He does for us. How sad that Jesus would have to ask, “The nine – where are they?” Why didn’t they come back and thank Jesus? Probably for some of the same reasons you and I don’t spend more time giving thanks.

  1.  Maybe they were too busy. Now that they received their healing there were a hundred things they needed to do. They needed to return to their families; they needed to look for work; they needed to make up for lost time. Thanksgiving is a simple thing but it does take time which is a precious commodity. Make it a priority to devote time every day to just stop and give thanks to God.
  2. Maybe they had a chip on their shoulder. “God owes me…” When we feel like God owes us anything we start taking His blessings as payments for our devotion and service instead of that which He has freely given us out of His love and grace. Maybe the nine were angry at God because of their leprosy so when they were healed it didn’t produce gratefulness, but more like, “it’s about time.” It is good to remember that God owes you and me nothing. “Who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?” (Romans 11:35)
  3. Maybe they were overly focused on themselves. When our lives are all about us we miss the big picture and fall into the delusion that we are independent. Remember, every breath we draw comes from the God who made us, and we continue to exist only due to His mercy. He’s the sun we orbit around, so we need to be careful not to make ourselves the middle. There is no greater use of the breath He has lent us than to give thanks back to God.
Posted in Acts, Ecclesiastes, Philippians

Emotionally Content

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 NIV

I want to learn how to enjoy the season that I am currently experiencing instead of fighting it. Why is it so easy to pine over what once was, or to long for a future that is different than my life right now? God has made right now beautiful if I’m willing to see it. He has you and me where we are right now.  Can we agree with Him in our emotions and even learn to enjoy this season? Or do we fight with God, advise God, disagree with God, and basically go against the grain of the season we’re in with the slivers to prove it? Jesus said to Saul, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 26:14)

We can’t fathom the whole of what God is doing in our lives and because of that we aren’t capable of judging how the present season fits. Why not trust God and get into the flow of what He is doing? Maybe you’re like me, frustrated by your seeming lack of control over what happens in your circumstances. If we surrender our need for control we are free to trust the One who really is in control. Easier said than done, but it’s only when we truly let go that we experience His peace. Here’s His promise to us in Philippians 4:6-7: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Whether you are old or young, married or single, employed or unemployed, in school or out of school, happy or sad, on the top or on the bottom… whatever your life is like right now, I challenge you to find God’s beauty in it and to be at peace.

Posted in 1Thessalonians, Colossians, James, Jeremiah, Psalms, Romans

Give Thanks

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1Thessalonians 5:18

Many times we aren’t sure what God’s perfect will is for a situation, so we waver between one direction and another. “God, couldn’t you speak more clearly so that I would know for sure?” Well, this passage is crystal clear and it’s right in the word of God; “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will…” The interesting thing about God’s will is that it is not as much about what we do, as it is about how we do what we do. Listen to this verse: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:23) Whatever you do! Praying, eating, playing, watching football, shopping…. whatever.

Our text doesn’t say “for everything,” evil does happen, but rather, “in everything.” How can we thank God in every single circumstance we are in?

We can always thank Him for His love which endures forever. God loves you and me right now no matter what we’re going through! How wonderful is that?

We can thank Him that He is in control. However bad things may seem, everything that is happening has at least been allowed by God and has not surprised Him. We can thank Him for always having a plan for good no matter how badly we have messed things up. (Jeremiah 29:11) We can thank Him for His wisdom which is able to work “all” things for our good. (Romans 8:28) He will use our trials (self inflicted or God ordained) to make us complete and content in Christ alone. (James 1:2-4)

No matter what is going on we can thank Him that our real life is, “hidden with Christ in God,” (Colossians 3:1) and that our real home is in heaven. We can thank Him for the forgiveness of our sins and for His guiding presence in our future. We can thank Him for the cross, and that whatever hardship we are going through is nothing compared to what He went through for us. We can thank Him for being good, for being our Father, for being our Savior – for being our everything. As the Psalmist has said, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His loving-kindness is everlasting.” (Psalm 107:1)

Posted in John

The Narrow Way

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

Alice and I were flying back from a conference in New York a few years ago, and the lady across the aisle was flipping through index cards, so I asked her what she was doing.

“I’m learning to speak German,” she said. “My son married a German woman and we’re going over to Germany soon for her ordination as a Lutheran pastor.”

She was more than willing to talk, so I asked about her own background and found out she was raised Southern Baptist but had since become a Unitarian.

“As I grew intellectually I realized that all religions were equally sincere and therefore, equally true,” she explained.

So I asked her about the resurrection, and she said she wasn’t sure about it and didn’t know if anyone could be. I gave her a couple of historical arguments for Jesus’ resurrection and then asked her to rethink her premise of “sincerity” being the proof of truth. We know that in mathematics one plus one equals two and that it doesn’t matter how sincerely someone may think it’s three – there’s only one right answer. Truth, by definition, is narrow. If Jesus rose from the dead then He was who He said He was, and if so, He is the only way to God.

At this point the man in front of me turned around and asked me to keep my voice down because it was “projecting.” I finished talking with the woman, trying to keep my voice down, by sharing C.S. Lewis’ Liar, lunatic, or Lord argument. We don’t have the intellectual option of believing Jesus was a good man, or even a great prophet.  Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh so He was either a liar, He knew He was just a man so lied about being God; a lunatic, He really thought He was God but wasn’t; or He was and is Lord of all.

At this we finished our conversation and after a minute of silence, I felt a tug on my sleeve from the man directly behind me. When I turned around, he told me he wished that our conversation had lasted for two more hours.

Some believe, some don’t believe, and some aren’t sure what they believe. But the truth stands on its own regardless of how people react to it. The sun still exists on a cloudy day whether we believe in it or not!

Posted in Romans

Believing God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:18-21

There’s a difference between believing in God and believing God. Let’s look at Abraham’s process of believing God, so we can learn how to believe God as well.

He heard from God. “So shall your offspring be,” was a reference to Abraham gazing at the stars and hearing the voice of God. This is the beginning of faith – God speaking. (Romans 10:17)

He faced his circumstances. He was a hundred years old, and Sarah was barren – it would take a miracle. All human hope of the promise coming true was extinguished; it would take direct intervention from God. Faith never asks us to live in denial of our circumstances, but it often does ask us to believe God in spite of them.

He kept believing. The beginning of faith is exciting, but what if what was promised doesn’t happen right away? “He did not waver through unbelief.” He didn’t but he could have. He could have questioned whether God had really spoken at all, or whether He really meant what He said. He could have thought of all the others who had prayed and didn’t seem to be answered. It’s easy to waver through unbelief. He chose to believe God and to keep believing God.

What has God promised you? If nothing, then get into His word and ask Him what He has for you. Position your life to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit and you’ll be surprised at how alive Jesus is today. When He speaks, I encourage you to go from believing in God to believing God. Whether it’s for salvation, healing, restoration, provision, or a direction He’s leading you in. Time in His word and in His presence will purify our thoughts, so we can know the difference between what God is actually speaking and what we are only imagining. Take what is truly of God and believe Him for the great things He wants to do in us, for us, and through us.

Posted in Hebrews, Luke, Romans

Dealing with Differences

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“‘Master,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in Your Name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said, ‘for whoever is not against you is for you.’” Luke 9:49-50

When I first came to Christ, I was part of a church that believed we were the only pure expression of Christianity in our city. Every sermon featured some way we were better than everyone else. We only used the King James Bible, for instance, and believed every other translation was defiled and leading people into heresy. We were “it,” and everyone else was deceived at some level.

Looking back, I feel sadness for how proud and blind we were; not just about ourselves, but about who God is. We had made the God of all grace so small and picky that if you didn’t believe exactly like we did you were on the outside. The truth is that we were small and picky, not God.

John is clearly proud of his rebuke of this man who wasn’t, “one of us.” Jesus had a wider circle of those who are with Him.

People come to me with accusations against Christian leaders across the body of Christ. Sometimes it’s about what a leader said and sometimes it’s about something questionable they did. I’m almost always in agreement with those who are bringing the charge, leaders are flawed and often say things and do things that are a little off. But once in a while the person bringing the accusation wants more than agreement, they want me to publicly renounce that leader and their group.

At this point I become a disappointment to them. Jesus is not ashamed to call me His brother (Hebrews 2:11) with all of my flaws and errors, so I want to be unashamed to stand next to brothers and sisters who love Jesus, but aren’t just like our group.

I understand and value the desire for truth and the need to be on guard against deception, but we must be very careful before pointing the finger at others lest we condemn someone who Jesus accepts and delights in. May God help us be humble and generous toward all those who are different from us. “Accept one another,” Paul says to Christians who were judging each other over minor differences, “just as Christ has accepted you.” (Romans 15:7)