Tag Archives: god of second chances

mmmm genesis 8 mmmm

Leave a reply

Mmmm Enjoyed delicious Indian Tandoori Chicken and Naan Bread last weekend Mmmm

I thank God that I live in multicultural Sydney with a huge variety of authentic Asian food!

But that’s not the only food that is mouth-watering.

I’m being nourished at Bible College with tantalising morsels of Old Testament this semester.

“So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark, one kind after another.Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”

Genesis 8:18-21

Genesis sets up this incredible unfolding plan of God.

We have the tension of sin and Man’s rebellion contrasted against God’s love for his people.

We are left asking, “How will this all end?”

God knew that Man would rebel against him well before he even created anything.

The amazing thing is that God decided to go ahead and create the whole universe anyway knowing that Man would rebel against him.

He lovingly created a beautiful world knowing that we would pollute it with our sinfulness.

As a result we now have major environmental problems because we have failed to care for the world:

  • We have chopped down all the trees
  • We have killed all the animals
  • We have thrown rubbish everywhere
  • We have polluted the air with greenhouse gases.

We only have ourselves to blame for Climate Change.

As we read about Noah and the Flood, we see that God is a God of Second Chances.

He could have wiped out all Mankind but he chose to spare Noah and his family.

God knew full well that every inclination of Man’s heart is evil from childhood.

He knew that we are naturally evil from birth. It is in our nature to sin.

Inexplicably he allowed Noah to survive knowing that Man would continue to sin after the Flood.

We see a repeating pattern emerging in Genesis that will continue throughout the whole Old Testament

  • Man rebels against God
  • God warns Man to stop rebelling
  • Man ignores God’s warning
  • God rightfully judges Man for his rebellion
  • God gives Man a Second Chance and lessens the punishment
  • God restores Man

Then the cycle begins all over again showing that we haven’t learned anything from our mistakes.

The whole Old Testament is leading to the climax in the New Testament.

Through Jesus, God has dealt with Man’s rebellion once and for all.

Jesus has taken the punishment that we deserve upon himself.

Jesus has restored our relationship with God and stopped this pointless cycle of hopelessness.

Jesus gives us real food and real hope for the future.

mmmm Bible mmmm

mmmm job 28 mmmm

Leave a reply

Come for a delicious journey through God’s Word with a hungry Sydney Bible College student!

Do you crave something more filling than yumcha?

If so, read on ….

Job 28:20-28 (NIV 1984)

“Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds of the air.
Destruction and Death say,
‘Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.’
God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.
And he said to man,
‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.’”

The book of Job in the Old Testament is about a Man and his relationship with God.

Job experiences unexplained suffering and cries out in pain.
His friends try to offer comforting words of wisdom but are tactless and foolish.
Job wonders where true wisdom can be found.

Only God is the source of true wisdom.

Man can find wisdom in right relationship with God.
We do this by humbly approaching Him and recognising that He is the Creator (and we are not!)

He creates thunderstorms like Super Storm Sandy that devastated NE USA recently.
I love New York in the Spring – one of the great cities of the world alongside Sydney.
So to see the recent devastation is heart-breaking and humbling.

When suffering happens to us, we cry out in pain.
But instead of asking, “Why did you do this, God?”

We should ask, “How can I trust God to get me through this suffering?”

God is more important than our treasured homes that can be washed away in a storm.

God is more reliable than politicians who promise but fail to deliver.

God wants us to trust Him when everything collapses around us.

He sent Jesus to give us eternal hope so that we can weather the most powerful storm.

Who do you trust when you lose everything?

mmmm Bible mmmm

mmmm colossians 1 mmmm

Leave a reply

Come for a delicious journey through God’s Word with a hungry Sydney Bible College student!

Do you crave something more filling than yumcha?

If so, read on ….

Colossians 1:15-16 (NIV 1984)

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

What is the meaning of life?

Philosophers, comedians and theologians have pondered this question since time began.

Some answers include:

  • Love, Family relationships and friendships
  • Knowledge, learning and education
  • Career success and job satisfaction
  • Good food and wine
  • Money, possessions, a comfortable home in a good suburb and a fast car
  • Good health, the body beautiful, fitness and sport
  • Art, architecture, music and entertainment
  • Travel and the environment
  • Recreation and leisure
  • Humour and happiness

Colossians tells us something different and often we miss the last 2 words in verse 16.

Jesus created the universe for himself. This includes all humans – Christian and non-Christian.

We belong to Jesus. He is our “meaning”.

So what does this look like?

Jesus desires to enjoy us in close relationship to him – closer than our family or best friends.

We often look for meaning in the wrong places:

  • Family and friends come and go – we mourn when we lose them
  • Even with all the knowledge in the world, we can still be lonely
  • Redundancy can stunt our career plans and threaten our homes
  • Cancer and Diabetes can spoil our appetite for good food and wine
  • Money and possessions can be stolen or destroyed in fire
  • We are so busy in life and no longer have time for rest and hobbies
  • Worries and Depression can make our fun and laughter disappear

Jesus is eternal – he is still there when our world collapses around us

He is our food that satisfies the greatest hunger when we need it most

Enjoy him today!

mmmm Bible mmmm

mmmm ephesians 2 mmmm

Leave a reply

Come for a delicious journey through God’s Word with an inquisitive Sydney Bible College student!

Do you hunger for something more filling than yumcha?

If so, read on ….

Ephesians 2:4-9 (NIV 1984)

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Growing up in a Christian family, I always thought I had to earn my way to heaven by going to church every Sunday and obeying the Ten Commandments.

But I was always worried that I wasn’t good enough. In my heart, I knew that I wasn’t perfect.

When I was 17, I read this passage in Ephesians and a wave of relief washed over me.

God is a God of second chances (mercy) giving me an amazing gift that I didn’t deserve (grace): His Son Jesus.

I didn’t earn this free gift and there is no way that I can repay God for saving me.

Suddenly a light dawned on me and I fully understood and appreciated the enormity of “grace“.

I was baptised soon after and now live my life in thankfulness to God for his “grace“.

Think about “love”, “mercy” and “grace” – they are  closely interconnected:

Grace is clearly the greatest gift we can receive in our lives – once you realise this, you can relax and be free from guilt and worry forever. Nothing else matters.

mmmm Bible mmmm

mmmm ezekiel 36 mmmm

Leave a reply

Come for a delicious journey through God’s Word with a hungry Sydney Bible College student!

Do you hunger for something more filling than yumcha?

If so, read on ….

Ezekiel 36:24-26 (NIV 1984)

[God said] “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

God was very angry with the hard-hearted Israelites in Ezekiel. He punished them severely.

But after judgement, God quickly forgave them and desired to gather his people back to himself.

We can see that He is a God of second chances!

He will change our hearts so that we can respond to him in love.

God no longer lives in the temple in Jerusalem.

Through Jesus, He will now live in our hearts if we let Him in.

mmmm Bible mmmm