FRESH Official Podcast Berni Dymet

Each one of us has that one weakness, that one chink in our armour, that one … sin that keeps coming back to haunt us; to derail our faith journey. You probably already know what yours is.

I certainly know mine. And the dynamic that tends to play itself out when that one particular temptation comes our way is this: we try to resist it for a while, but that temptation to gossip, that temptation to be that little bit dishonest (again!) that temptation to … whatever, grows stronger and stronger.

And then you remember that, come what may, God’s going to forgive you because you believe in Jesus - oh yeah, I forgot about that! – at which point you give yourself a premeditated get-out-of-jail-free card; at which point you yield to the temptation. Sound familiar?

Well, time to sober up.

Romans 6:1,2 So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us more and more grace? Of course not! Our old sinful life ended. It’s dead. So how can we continue living in sin?

That’s a rhetorical question, in case you’re wondering. How can you?! is what God’s saying to us through the Apostle Paul here. How can you, after all I’ve done for you in offering up Jesus to die on that Cross for you? How can you?

The grace of God in Jesus Christ isn’t a ticket to keep on sinning. It’s not our license to fall to that same temptation again and again. So the next time you’re counting on giving yourself yet another premediated free pass to sin, may the Holy Spirit remind you of God’s response:

How can you?

That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

You know what I think? I think that it’s all too easy to over-spiritualise Christianity, to get so drawn into singing songs and slapping people on the back – praise the Lord, Hallelujah, brother – that we forget that love, as well as being a noun, is a verb – a doing word.

In all great cultures the word for love isn’t just something that we have or don’t have (in other words, a noun) it’s also something we’re meant to do (a verb).

We all love to be loved, sure. But how much do we show love to others by doing love? By being practical, by lending a helping hand, by being honest and decent in the workplace. I know a successful business owner who seems to be a godly, lovely person on a Sunday but who’s a tyrant at work, resulting in high employee turnover.

Psalm 112:5,6 It is good for people to be kind and generous and to be fair in business. Such good people will never fall. They will always be remembered.

I don’t know … I think it’s so easy to get caught up in the whole spirituality side of a faith in Jesus that we forget the simple, the basic, the practical things – the things that others notice, the things that speak to them of the love (or not) of the God in whom we profess to believe.

And if it feels like we’ve been talking about that rather a lot this week, then please know that it’s entirely intentional. Because for God, this is a big deal.

It’s good for us, very good, to be kind, generous and fair in business.

That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

In most countries, occupational health and safety (or OH&S, as it’s called) is a big deal. And rightly so, because in places where it isn’t, some terrible things end up happening to the workers.

The 1993 Kader Toy Factory fire in Bangkok is still considered to be the worst industrial fire in history. What began as a small blaze on the first floor quickly turned to tragedy through poor building design and inadequate fire escapes. 188 people died and over 500 were seriously injured.

We shake our heads. That’s terrible! How could those factory owners have allowed that? I hope they went to jail!

The underlying principle here is that we have a responsibility to be proactive in caring for others; we’re meant to think ahead to avert harm. And despite the fact that it’s taken a long time for OH&S to catch on, this isn’t a new concept.

Deuteronomy 22:8 When you build a new house, you must build a wall around your roof. Then you will not be guilty for the death of a person who falls from the house.

Can I ask you, in your day-to-day life, how much do you think ahead to protect others? Maybe not from falling off a roof, but from harm, from abuse, from conflict, from any number of things that could hurt them.

What could you do to help your work colleague whose mistake is about to draw the ire of management? How could you step in to help a friend avert a major conflict in their marriage?

God’s principle here? If we see something that could harm others yet do nothing about it, we’re culpable; we’re guilty of the harm that comes to them.

That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Neighbours have a funny way of getting on one another’s nerves. Be it a barking dog, tree roots under the fence, cigarette smoke or a boundary dispute, being a good neighbour can be a bit of a challenge. 

Doubtless we’ve all made mistakes in those difficult situations. But as much as keeping the peace is important, God has a much higher calling on us as neighbours.

Deuteronomy 22:1,2 If you see that your neighbour’s ox or sheep is loose, you must not ignore it. Be sure to take it back to its owner. If the owner does not live near you or if you don’t know who it belongs to, take the ox or sheep to your house. Keep it there until the owner comes looking for it; then give it back.

Now just quietly, my neighbours don’t keep any oxen or sheep that I’m aware of, but recently a courier delivered a computer screen in a carboard box, and because my neighbour wasn’t home he left it outside in the rain. Seeing that, I raced out and yes, got wet, but managed to save the delivery for which my neighbour was deeply grateful. It cost me nothing. It saved her a lot.

The point is that we’re called to look out for our neighbours. Not merely to keep the peace, but to be proactive, to go out of our way for them. Because that sort of practical help is a powerful witness of the love of this God in whom we profess to believe.

So the next time you see that your neighbour’s ox or sheep is loose, don’t ignore it. Be sure to take it back to its owner.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

I’ll be honest with you. I haven’t always been that enamoured by God’s timing. There’ve been too many times when suffering’s gone on for too long. And frankly, there’ve been too many times when He’s held His blessings back for way too long, too!  How about you?

I have a young friend whose wife, soon after they were married, was struck down with chronic fatigue syndrome. Okay, but why does God allow it to go on?

I’m sure that between us, you and I could cite an endless string of instances like that, and much worse, that cause us to question God. Why is it that He has, what seems to us to be, such lousy timing?

The Old Testament Prophet Habakkuk, had that very same complaint:

Habakkuk 1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?

Things weren’t going at all well for the Israelites. The Babylonians were causing havoc. No wonder Habakkuk cries out to God. God’s response?

Habakkuk 2:3 This message is about a special time in the future. This message is about the end, and it will come true. Just be patient and wait for it. That time will come; it will not be late.

Given where you’re at just at the moment, that may or may not be something you want to hear. Maybe it’s not even something you want to believe. But hang on a minute. God knows exactly what you’re going through. And what a powerful comfort it is to know that His timing is always perfect.

Just be patient and wait for it. The time will come; it won’t be late.

That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

A man by the name of Bernie Madoff, a former Chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange, holds the title for the biggest Ponzi scheme in human history. He stole, wait for it … $64.8 billion US dollars.

A Ponzi scheme is deception and fraud on a massive scale. An investment house takes people’s money, promising high returns. But instead of investing it, they steal it. Sure, they deliver regular returns and some capital payouts to existing investors, but only by spending the funds deposited by new investors. It’s a house of cards that eventually has to come crashing down because the investors’ original capital is gone.

But what if I told you that there’s a far bigger deception that’s been perpetrated globally since time began – a deception so great that it’s cost billions of people not just their investments but their very lives, for all eternity?

Speaking to some pretty bad people, Jesus said this:

John 8:44 Your father is the devil. You belong to him. You want to do what he wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He was always against the truth. There is no truth in him. He is like the lies he tells. Yes, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies.

The lie that the devil keeps telling us is that life’s great. Eat, drink and be merry. There’ll be no accounting for what you’ve done. And hey, even if there is, you’re not such a bad person.

That house of cards is going to come crashing down for each one of us one day when we stand before our Creator. Don’t believe the devil. He’s the father of lies. Believe Jesus.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.