Tag Archives: purity

Eschatology, Jews and Gentiles

Will your anchor hold?

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One year ago, during the closing months of 2023, I was gripped by two urgent spiritual priorities. it was as if God had used a giant highlighter and written them across my mental and spiritual landscape.  I couldn’t get away from them.  I have spent the last fifteen months processing these compelling issues, and now have much greater clarity about both, though I am still learning.

The first issue is the inescapable Biblical truth of God’s enduring covenant with Israel.

How was I, as a Gentile Christian, to understand the implications of this truth?

I began seriously considering this question in the wake of the horrific Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, followed by over a year of warfare for Israel, and a rising tide of hatred, threats and intimidation poured out on Canada’s Jewish population.

Initially the question was simply how to understand what it was like to be Jewish in the wake of this unrelenting horror.  I knew that I needed to reach out to my few Jewish contacts. Among them were Alan and Robin Gilman. They were very gracious, and invited Marion and me to attend Shalom Restoration Fellowship, a Messianic/One New Man fellowship in Ottawa in which they are active participants. Since then, Marion and I have attended SRF about once per month, while also remaining active in our small (but growing) rural evangelical church.

My involvement in SRF, coupled with numerous conversations and an eleven-week online school of prayer focussed on praying for Israel, stirred me to dig more deeply into the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and the history of Jewish-Christian relations. This was not new territory for me, but God was highlighting it with fresh urgency, as if to say This time you really have to pay attention. This is important.

One of the tools that God put into my hands was a podcast produced by three American evangelical disciple-makers and students of the Bible. Among other things, the Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast highlighted for me the extent to which the New Testament is a thoroughly Jewish book.

I also had an opportunity to teach on God’s covenant with Israel at my church. As I worked through Romans 11 and related Scriptures, I became completely convinced that God’s covenant with Israel remains in effect and can never be revoked. About 1800 years before the  birth of Jesus, Abram – whose father was an idol-worshipper – had a life-changing encounter with Almighty God.  He lived in a time when the earth was full of cruelty and much wickedness, including ritual prostitution and the abomination of child sacrifice. In the midst of this corrupt culture, Abram was called to turn away from the gods of paganism and become a worshipper of the one true God.

This was the beginning of God’s plan to redeem the earth. From this one man (now renamed Abraham) God brought forth a nation, and made a covenant with them. He called them to forsake all other gods, to worship Him only, and to be a light to the nations. He promised to always be faithful to them.  If they were unfaithful to their covenant with God – which happened many times – He would discipline them, sometimes severely, but he would never abandon them. Centuries later, when God’s people had been exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness, the prophet Jeremiah reaffirmed that God would no more break his covenant with Israel than he would change the fixed order of day and night (Jeremiah 33:20)

Fast forward to the time of Yeshua (Jesus). After his death and resurrection, Peter, James, Paul and the other apostles proclaimed him to be the Messiah of Israel. Some Jews believed, especially in Israel, but many – especially in the Jewish diaspora – did not. In the face of this perplexing fact, the apostle Paul reaffirmed that God had not rejected His people Israel (Romans 11:1-2), and warned Gentile believers that Israel was the root into which they had been grafted, and that if they became arrogant towards those Jews who did not yet believe in Yeshua as Messiah, they stood in danger of God’s judgment (Romans 11:17-21).

But, you may say, that was a long time ago. If you are not Jewish, why should any of this matter to you?  If you are a Christian, quite possibly your church, like mine, has no Jews in it. Why all the fuss about an issue that has no relevance to your church or your life?

Consider this. If you consider yourself a Christian, God’s faithfulness to you personally is probably important to you. But if you have no problem with God changing his mind about his covenant with Israel, which he swore he would never break, why should he be faithful to you?

As a Gentile believer in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, I have staked my life on God’s faithfulness to Israel. My salvation is intertwined with the salvation of Israel.  I am a child of Abraham by faith. The people of Israel have many enemies because they, alone among the nations of the earth, are called to represent the worship of the one true God. Every faithful Jew is called to pray the Shema daily – “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5)  This call to be faithful to the one true God, coupled with the fact that the renewed earth will one day be ruled by the Messiah on the throne of David, is why Satan constantly incites the nations of the earth against Israel. It is also why Israel has failed so often and suffered so much. But the day will come when the leaders of Israel call out for their Messiah, Yeshua, and on that day He will come and save them (Matthew 23:39,  Zechariah 12:8-10).

While processing all this, I was also deeply impacted by revelations about a devastating history of sexual abuse at International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Though I have never lived in Kansas City, my son lives there with his wife and family, and over a fifteen-year period I had grown to love the worship and teaching ministry of IHOP-KC, with its focus on intimacy with Jesus, purity, humility, integrity, generosity, and readiness for the Day of the Lord. I never dreamt that beneath the shiny surface was a rotten core. I have been especially grieved for the victims of abuse, and for the thousands who had sincerely sought the Lord and served in worship and prayer at IHOP-KC.

How could a leader whom I respected so highly, who seemed to be a model of integrity and humility, be living such a double life?  And it’s not just IHOP-KC. There has been an epidemic of such revelations in the past two years. Why is this happening? One answer is an absence of the fear of the Lord .

My tour through the Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast has not only educated me about the Jewish faith of the first century apostles. It has also reminded me that our Jewish Messiah delights in the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:3). Jesus and his apostles taught that this age would culminate in the Day of the Lord when evil would be judged, the earth would be cleansed and the Kingdom of God would come visibly and with power. In view of that day, said the apostle Peter, we must seek to live holy and godly lives (2 Peter 3:11), and not be conformed to the ways of this world  (Romans 12:1-2).

In what are you anchoring your hope?  Every human attempt to bring in the Kingdom of God has been a dismal failure. Rather than puffing ourselves up with inflated hopes of what we can do by our own power, we are to live lives of prayer, holiness, love and self-control in view of His coming (Romans 13:11-12, 2 Timothy 1:7). We are to live generously, forgive quickly, serve others in love, and thus display the light of Messiah to the world (Matthew 5:14-16). We are to remember his faithfulness to Israel, and continue to place our hope in the Kingdom He has promised (Matthew 6:10). We are to invite others to share in our hope, and keep our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)

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Covid-19 Nuggets of Hope, Faith and Suffering, Reflections on Life

Nuggets of Hope 5 – Purchased by God

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Money.

In our world, we all need it, and can’t live without it. We use money to purchase many of our daily needs. In fact, the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis is one of the big concerns that many people have.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am offering these brief daily reflections to inspire hope in God’s people as we think about different aspects of His purposes and plans for us.

Today I want to consider a powerful truth. God has placed a value on your life.

In addressing a moral issue that was plaguing the community of believers in Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote these powerful, hope-giving words (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,
who is in you, whom you have received from God?
You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Money is how most of us assign value to things. We say something is valuable if it costs a lot of money. But God didn’t use money to purchase us. He used something of far greater value – the life of a person. And not just any person. He purchased us with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

This means that we are of great value to God. You don’t pay a high price for something that is unimportant to you. The more you pay for something, the more you value it. God paid the highest possible price to redeem us from sin and eternal destruction. He paid the life of His own beloved Son. He did this because He loves us and wants us to be with him forever.

As God’s purchased possession, we are secure in Him. In the midst of all the shakings and uncertainties of the time we are in, those who belong to Jesus and have surrendered our lives to Him can know with confidence that we are loved, chosen by God to inherit a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Being purchased with the blood of Christ also means that we do not belong to ourselves. When you buy something, you have a purpose in mind. God redeemed us from the empty way of life of the lost world around us so that we could live in a different way.  How we walk through this time, or any time, is of great importance. We are called to purity, to hope, to love.  We’re called to think of others and not just ourselves. Fear can make us stupid, but the love and sanctifying power of Jesus enables us to live by a different standard. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

My granddaughter Madison loves to sing This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. We have a light within us that is placed there by God. We are His purchased possession. We are of high value, and secure in Him. Let’s shine for Him today.

 

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Dreams and Visions, Faith and Politics, Intercession

My dream date with Justin Trudeau

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A few nights ago I had a dream. It wasn’t one of those confusing dreams that you can only half remember. The main lines of it were crystal clear.

In my dream, I was at some sort of public event (a dinner or conference of some sort) with Justin Trudeau. At this event, I had an opportunity to talk with the PM face to face. He made time to chat with me at some length. My dominant impression of him was that of a sympathetic, respectful, idealistic, engaging and likable man, who took what seemed to be a genuine interest in me and my concerns. 

As my conversation with the PM came to an end and he moved on to other things, I realized with some chagrin that throughout this conversation my focus had been entirely on myself and my own goals and concerns. I had taken time to talk with the PM about my views on various matters (I don’t remember details of what I said), but I had not offered to pray for him or asked him about his needs or concerns, or the needs of his family, so that I could pray for him with more insight.

On realizing this, I tried to contact him again so that I could ask him about his needs and how I might pray for him, but his attention was now elsewhere and I no longer had access to him. My opportunity for direct contact was over and I realized that if I wanted to offer to pray for him, I would have to send an email, which would almost certainly be handled by a member of his staff and would probably not get his personal attention.

Then my dream came to an end, and I awoke.

I knew that this dream was significant, so I asked God for insight, and He spoke to me with unmistakable clarity.

My dialogue with the Lord about this dream follows.  Some of this input from the Lord came immediately, as I journaled the dream that morning, and some came on further reflection. I have added links to Scripture references that undergird what the Lord showed me about this dream.

Father, what do you want to say to me about this? Why did I have this dream?

Because I want you to prioritize prayer for Mr. Trudeau and not focus on trading or expressing negative views of his leadership with fellow political conservatives. Like most people, your tendency is to think of the Prime Minister in terms of his office, not as a man. You think of what he can do for you and what you want him to do differently. You do not think about his personal needs, especially his need for salvation and a relationship with Me.

Many of your concerns about his leadership and his policies are justified, but I don’t want you to focus on this. That is not what My people are called to. You are called to pray. The governments of this age will inevitably fall short, but he is a man who has very genuine spiritual needs and he is spiritually open and hungry and has a soft heart. So pray for him. Pray for him as if it matters. Don’t just pray that he will change his political views. Pray that he will see Me for who I am, and turn to Me in genuine humility and repentance. When Paul the Apostle had access to the governor and the king, he testified. He didn’t plead his own case or try to influence the governor’s policies. His concern was for the salvation of the men in whose presence he found himself. So should yours be. Pray for your Prime Minister. He is first of all a man like you. Pray that he will put his hope in Me. That is all that ultimately matters. If Justin turns to Me, many other things will change as well. But I don’t want you to focus on that. I want you to focus on cultivating a heart of mercy towards him as a man – a man whom I love, a man for whom I gave My Son’s life, a man who is despised and mocked by many of My people who should instead be praying for him as a man in need of My salvation. 

I knew that I had been rebuked by the Lord. Over the past few days, His rebuke and his appeal to my heart have prompted the following further reflections.

By and large, most North American Christians have drifted far from the spirit of the New Testament in the way we relate to the governments of this age. When we see unwelcome changes in our culture, or when we have concerns about the direction of the nation, our tendency is to find fault with the government of the day and those who hold influence in our society. And indeed, at one level there may be much to criticize. But what Biblical support can we find for this posture? None whatsoever.

We are instructed to honour rulers, to pray for them, but not to put our hope for change in them. Our hope for change lies in the coming Kingdom of God in which Jesus our King will rule a restored earth from Jerusalem. Most of us don’t live as though we actually believe this. We live as though we believe that it’s up to us to rule the earth now, and we become offended when the government of the day doesn’t cooperate. But this is not New Testament Christianity. It is something else.

I believe the end of the age is approaching, and the Lord is purifying His people and calling us back to our true identity. Part of that identity is that we are a people of prayer whose hope is in the Son of David, the Messiah of Israel who is coming to rule the earth. When our hope is in Him, then we are free to love others without becoming offended with their failings. This includes government leaders. Our first responsibility towards them is to love them and pray for them.

I know all these things – I have known them for years – but I am guilty of allowing myself to be influenced by the political spirit that characterizes so much of the North American church. There is so much bitterness, resentment, anger and judgment in the attitude of many Christians towards government. Many of us are fearful of the changes that we see in society, and we have allowed our fears to influence our thinking, instead of keeping our hearts anchored in the peace that comes from God’s sure and certain promises.

I believe it is time for the church to renounce our idolatry of political power, repent of having placed our hope in the governments of this age, and place our hope once again in the Jesus of the New Testament. It’s time for us to be imitators of Him – to devote ourselves to His ways of prayer, servanthood and love. That is our true identity and calling.

 

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Intimacy with God, Reflections on Life

The river

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This summer I have done a lot of cycling on the paths by the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers. I do it for the exercise, but I also do it because being outdoors helps me to pray.

I have been without work for four months now. This has been a faith-stretching time for me, as I have been waiting for God to supply me with work, but it has also been a season of spiritual refreshing. This has been especially true in recent weeks as Marion and I have been devoting ourselves to the word of God and prayer to an extent that we have not done for a long time. It has been deeply challenging and also fruitful. But I know there is much more that the Lord wants to do in me – in fact, I feel as though I am just touching the edge of what he wants to lead me into. The earth is coming into a pivotal time, a season when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, so that only those things which cannot be shaken will remain. To fulfil God’s purposes for us so that we come forth in glory through the upheavals that are coming, we will need to be deeply anchored in God and full of His life. The other day the Lord reminded me of this quite powerfully during one of my bike rides.

About ten days ago Ottawa had a major thunderstorm after several weeks of drought. The storm was accompanied by heavy rains. The Rideau had gotten very low, and many of the shallower areas were choked with algae and water weeds. But the day after the rain, there was noticeably more water in the river, and the parkland along its banks didn’t seem quite so dry. The rain wasn’t enough to truly end the drought, but it helped. I had been praying for rain, so I was thankful.

A couple of days after the rainstorm, I was pedalling along the bicycle path by the Rideau River and I sensed the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

See this river. See how low, and polluted, the water is after this season of drought. It is a picture of your soul (mind, will, emotions). My river of life flows in you but it is at a much lower level than it could be, and it is polluted by other things. The other day there was a rainfall. It was an answer to your prayers, and you were happy. The rain was good, but the river is still low. In the same way, you must not be content with the refreshing you are now experiencing. It feels good, but do not conclude that this is all you need. Let this time of refreshing stir up your desire for more. Your soul needs to be filled to overflowing with my river of life. When my river of life is flowing at flood tide in you, like a raging torrent, it will purify all uncleanness and bring life to you and many others. 

Reflecting more on this, the other day the Lord spoke to me using a different analogy. He showed me that much of my life as a Christian I had been playing in the shallows of a huge swimming pool – like a little child splashing in the shallow water on the beach – and he is calling me to humble myself, recognize that I need much more, and apply myself to going much deeper in him.

God, I don’t want to be satisfied too easily. I choose to be content in you, but at the same time I do not want to be easily satisfied with the measure of the Holy Spirit that I have received. I am refreshed by the streams of living water that you have been pouring out, but I want more. You say that the Holy Spirit is a deposit, a down payment on our inheritance. I want to maximize that deposit – make the most of it – so that you will reward me with much more on that Day. Even now, Lord, I want as much of your revelation as I can have in this age, so that I can testify with grace and power to the new life that you are prepared to give to anyone who is truly hungry for you.

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Apologetics, Truthspeakers

Why not tell all?

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This is a bit of a different post.  It contains the text of a letter that I will be sending to Minister of Heritage James Moore, with a copy to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.  The letter speaks for itself.  

Minister Moore,

I am deeply disturbed at the reports I have heard concerning the explicit sexual content of the exhibition “Sex: A Tell All Exhibition” that is scheduled to open May 17 in the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

Journalist Patrick Meagher was among those invited to attend a preview of this exhibition.  He reports that it includes graphic presentations of masturbation, nudity and condom use. As well, the exhibition features videos of a woman who says she approves of multiple partners, and a young woman who shares sexual favours among friends. In a video discussion on sexual orientation, not one of the twelve people interviewed is heterosexual.  Yet another station reportedly answers questions on what to do about an unwanted pregnancy. The option of adoption or keeping the child is not mentioned. The advice is to have an abortion as soon as possible. Such reports leave me with the impression that the entire exhibition is ideologically-motivated, with an agenda to undermine all notions of responsible behaviour and to portray all forms of sexual expression as morally acceptable.

My son and his wife and two pre-school daughters will be visiting Ottawa in a few weeks’ time. My wife and I were talking earlier today about possible activities for the girls while they are in our beautiful capital city. Prior to reading reports of the exhibition on sexuality, we had considered suggesting that our son and his wife take their girls to visit the Museum of Science and Technology. We remembered taking our children there when they were young.  They were enthralled by the trains, the baby chicks, the display of how telephones developed, and the crazy kitchen. It was a fascinating, stimulating yet safe environment for a young child. Apparently this is no longer the case. No parent in his or her right mind would bring a child to this exhibition if it resembles even remotely the descriptions I have read thus far. I am deeply disturbed at the thought that such a sleazy, pornographic exhibition would be permitted in any public place in Canada, even more disturbed that it would be intended for children and youth, and outraged at the thought that public funds would be used to pay for it.

Minister Moore, I believe that you are a man who cares for the public good. My sincere hope is that you were simply unaware of this exhibition. If the reports of this exhibition’s content are accurate, I plead with you to take immediate action to stop this exhibition from taking place.  If they are inaccurate, I plead with you to set the record straight, so that no-one will think that the Government of Canada would support an event that reflects so poorly on the cultural values of this nation.

A concerned citizen, father and grandfather

Peter Hartgerink
Ottawa, Canada

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Basic Principles, Reflections on Life

Thoughts on purity

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The Psalmist asked, “How can a young man keep his way pure?”  (Psalm 119:9 ).  This is a question asked in one way or another by all the great religions.   Pretty well all spiritual teachers agree that purity is a key to attaining the favour of God.

The problem is, none of us can attain purity of thought or action by our own efforts.  We can try, but it doesn’t work.   Punishment doesn’t make us pure, working out doesn’t make us pure, reading Bible verses doesn’t make us pure, praying 3 or 5 or 10 times a day facing Mecca or Jerusalem or Rome doesn’t make us pure, giving to the poor doesn’t make us pure, abstaining from food or sex doesn’t make us pure.  These practices can all have some value, but they don’t solve our core problem, which is that God is pure (holy, righteous) and we are not.  And because God is pure and we are not, we cannot have intimacy with God even though that intimacy is what we were made for, what our hearts long for and what alone can save us.

The prophet Ezekiel, recognizing that his people were irreparably damaged by generations of sin and not capable of obeying God consistently, prophesied that God would do what they could not do.  Listen to these words of promise :   I will give you a new heart, and will put my spirit within you.  I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

There is one alone who can make us pure – Jesus, who came from the Father to live this human life as one of us, who was born of a virgin and lived a life in perfect obedience to the Father’s will.  He has paid the price and carried the burden of sin for us.  Impurity is part of our inheritance from the Garden of Eden, the result of the sin of the first man and woman (Romans 5:12-17).   But because of what Jesus has done for us, we have a new inheritance – a free gift, already paid for.  Because of what He has done, we can have purity – not as an achievement but as a free gift.  All we have to do is surrender control of our life to Him and receive His life in exchange.  It’s like being born all over again – a fresh start.  The Bible says that when we receive this free gift, we are made new – like a whole new act of creation.

Do I still need to make the choice to turn away from impurity?  Yes, of course.  As long as I am in this life I will still need to make the daily choice to listen to the voice of the Spirit of God and not the whispers of the Tempter.  Even Jesus had to make this choice.  But because I have surrendered my life to Jesus, He lives in me by His Spirit, so the battle is already won even though I may have to go through some tests.  The moment I think I have to win the battle by my own efforts, I’ve already lost, because this way of thinking separates me from the river of life that flows from God’s throne.  Instead, what I need to keep doing is turn to the One who has already provided purity for me, and allow His purity and goodness to renew my mind and fill my thoughts.

I am so grateful that the battle has already been won and that in Jesus I have freedom and peace.  I would never want to go back to living without Him.  Thankfully, I don’t have to, and neither do you, because when we place our trust in Him, Jesus promises to be with us forever.  Thanks be to God!

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