In this world of turmoil and suffering, we long for a day when all will be put right.

A scene in the public ministry of Jesus of Nazareth helps us.

They arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he (Jesus) stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs… (Luke 8:26-27).

While today the man would probably be diagnosed with some form of psychosis, Luke the physician says he was demon-possessed.

Alien powers. Which raises an interesting question for us. The world of the Bible did not have the fields of psychiatry and psychology, yet the Bible does teach that we human beings are strange creatures who live on the boundary of two worlds – the physical and the spiritual. Sickness can invade this psychosomatic unity from either of those spheres. And when it does, it can cause symptoms that affect both the physical and the spiritual, the mind and the body.

Furthermore, just as illness can invade us from either source, so healing can come from either source. And when it is successful it can bring both spiritual and physical relief. We recognise this for example, when we bring prayer and medicine to bear on cancer. In the same way, we can bring prayer and psychiatry together for a person who is mentally ill.

Luke’s record provides a helpful clue to our question of diagnosis: the man fell down at Jesus’ feet, not in worship but in recognition of Jesus’ superior power. He shouted, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me’ (8:28).

The man was suffering from more than mental illness or uncontrolled behaviour through alcoholism or drug addiction. Markers of his condition were the length of time he had been disturbed and his awareness of the supernatural.

His response to Jesus’ question, ‘What is your name?’ shows how true this was. ‘Legion,’ he said. The powers within him knew they were confronted by someone greater, for Jesus was commanding them to leave the man (Luke 8:29-30).

A greater power. Fearing the abyss, the restriction of their movement, these alien forces asked Jesus to let them enter a large herd of swine. They may have thought this would allow them to move around. Receiving Jesus’ permission, they entered the pigs and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned (Luke 8:33).

The destruction of the pigs graphically captures the ultimate purpose of such cosmic powers: they are hell-bent on the destruction of God’s creation.

Luke’s juxtaposition of the before and after scenes reinforces this. Under the influence of dark powers, the man had no shame. He was naked and couldn’t live in normal society – only amongst the dead. He couldn’t be restrained and was unable to enjoy meaningful human relationships, let alone relationship with God. He was alienated and alone, an outcast. The powers of darkness are intent on defacing and destroying the image of God in us.

However, released from these dark powers through Jesus’ greater power, the man’s life was dramatically changed: the townspeople found him sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind (Luke 8:35). Whereas previously he hadn’t wanted companionship, now he wanted to be with Jesus. Whereas previously he had lived amongst the dead, now Jesus told him to return …home (Luke 8:38-39a).

Jesus holds out to us the promise of restoration and hope.

The picture the New Testament paints is that the Creator’s rightful rule has been usurped by a coup – by what the Letter to the Ephesians calls the rulers of this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12). Currently there is a conflict between two distinct spheres of existence – the heavenly and the earthly. However, the scene in the land of the Gerasenes points us to the supremacy of Jesus Christ.

For the present, we are naïve if we ignore the reality that there are dark forces in the cosmos intent on controlling the lives of men and women. As the scene in Luke 8 reveals, and as we read in Ephesians chapter 6, our struggle is not simply against flesh and blood. God’s people are caught up in a struggle with the powers of darkness.

However, the Bible assures us that the day is coming when everything will be brought under the rule of Jesus Christ – as we read for example, in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 10. Christianity is not a dualistic faith. God’s king is supreme. Jesus’ restoration of the man in the land of the Gerasenes points to this reality.

A commission. There’s something else in the scene in Luke chapter 8. Despite the good Jesus had done for the man, the local property owners and townspeople didn’t want him to stay. They feared him (Luke 8:35, 37). But Jesus didn’t leave this non-Jewish world without a witness. He commissioned the man to stay and let everyone know what God had done for him (Luke 8:39). His presence and testimony would be a constant reminder of the extraordinary Jewish man who had visited and brought about an amazing transformation to his life.

From the way Luke has recorded this event, it is clear he wants us not only to grasp the impact of Jesus’ power, but also to feel the extent of his care and compassion – and not least to those who are outside Israel.

God’s good news is that a remarkable intervention has occurred in world events. The true king of the universe himself has come amongst us, not with great fanfare, let alone with an army. That was not his strategy. Rather, single-handedly he has mortally wounded the prince of darkness and is now gathering from all over the world, people who are loyal to him.

To achieve his purposes, he involves us – to pray for God’s mercy and to introduce our family and connections to the compassionate and all-powerful Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who will put all things right.

If you will allow me a personal reference, have you taken up an opportunity to read The Jesus Story: Seven Signs to refresh your own faith as well as have a book to pass on to others? You can access it through Amazon.

A prayer. Lord God, the unfailing helper and guide of those whom you bring up in your steadfast fear and love, keep us, we pray, under the protection of your good providence, and give us a continual reverence and love for your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason

Note: Material for today’s Word on Wednesday is adapted from my book, Luke: An Unexpected God (2nd Edition, Aquila: 2019).

n his Screwtape Letters CS Lewis observes that there are two equal and opposite errors that people fall into regarding the dark powers. One mistake is to disbelieve in their existence; the other is to believe in them to excess.

In Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 12, Paul the Apostle writes: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power… For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places…

Paul takes the reality of conflict in the world to another level: ‘our struggle’, literally, ‘our wrestling’, is not so much against ‘flesh and blood’ but ‘principalities and powers’. In Ephesians chapter 1, verse 10, Paul speaks of the day when all things, ‘in heaven’ and ‘on earth’ will be brought under rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, as we read in chapter 6, for the present there’s a war between the two spheres of darkness and light.

Spiritually speaking, God’s people live in enemy occupied territory. The epic the Gospel records reveal is that the true king has slipped into our world to rescue people enslaved by the dark powers. The Gospel of John records Jesus’s words to Pilate: he could have called on a powerful army to rescue him (John 18:36). However, knowing that he alone could defeat the prince of darkness, he came without fanfare to accomplish his mission. He knew that only through his sacrificial death could the powers of evil, and death itself, be conquered. This is clearly stated in Colossians, chapter 2, verses 13 through 15. Jesus’s resurrection from the dead validates his victory.

However, for the present the dark powers, although mortally wounded, continue to do their worst, attempting to destroy God’s ultimate and sure plan to glorify his people.

Against this backdrop we learn from Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10 that God’s people are caught up in a spiritual conflict as individuals and together. It is here that too often we are naïve. We might reckon it is only the smooth-tongued and powerful elite voices that obstruct spiritual truth in the world. No, Paul warns. There are formidable supernatural forces at work – powers that will not respond to reason. We are caught up in a conflict that involves dark powers and human choices.

Put on the whole armor of God, we read in verse 13, so that you may be able to stand your ground. There will be times when the dark forces press us morally, whispering that everybody’s doing it. Sometimes they press us intellectually: you’re too clever to believe that. Sometimes they press us psychologically: your faith is so intolerant. And there are times when we are physically persecuted. The aim is always the same: to silence the voice of God’s people.

Stand firm, Paul says. Be alert. Don’t give in. Put on the inner protection of a godly lifestyle. Our loins need to be girded with God’s truth; we need a breastplate of righteousness; our feet need to be shod with the commitment to spread the gospel of peace, and we need the headpiece of salvation. Our lives are most at risk when our inner defenses are broken. We need the qualities of integrity, righteousness, gospel readiness, and the deep assurance of God’s ultimate victory.

The dark powers will do their worst to discredit our integrity, prevent gospel outreach through lethargy and infighting, and demoralize us by discouraging us.

We need protection: the shield of faith with which we can quench the flaming darts of darkness. We can’t cope on our own. We need to trust Christ, for when we do, the darts of darkness will fall useless. ‘The victory that overcomes the world,’ John tells us, ‘is our faith’ (1 John 5:4).

The sword of the spirit. While Paul hasn’t spelled out the meaning of his metaphors up to this point, he wants us to know that God’s Word is a sword. Unlike communism or any other ‘ism’ or ideology, there is no place in Christianity for a literal holy war. God’s new society is not brought in by act of Congress still less at the end of gun. God works through his Word.

The Word of God is not a message of the freedom fighters, but one that focusses on personal repentance and God’s forgiveness: the building of God’s new society and its compassion and care for a lost world. The victory of God’s Word will have eternal outcomes.

Pray. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints… (Ephes 6:18).

In any battle, communication is vital. In the histories of World War II there is a picture of a young soldier holding together a broken telephone line. Prayer is our field telegraph. Paul urges us to pray constantly, to persevere in prayer, and to be vigilant in prayer. We are to pray in the Spirit.

Romans chapter 8, verses 26 following, help us understand this, for there Paul tells us that the Spirit works with us in our prayer. In the midst of suffering we’re often at a loss to know what we should say. In those times, Paul tells us, the Spirit comes to our aid, putting our inarticulate thoughts into meaningful prayer, speaking to God on our behalf.

Despite the noise of opposing voices, God’s work continues to make inroads on the kingdom of darkness. When Jesus stood on the hills of ancient Israel with a handful of his followers, he said, ‘On this rock – the rock of faith – I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18). He was speaking to a small group of humble, un-influential men.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the legitimate ruler of the world. No, much, much more: the universe. Nothing in all creation will prevent the return of the King.

How important it is that, by God’s grace, we hold on to the shield of faith, wield the word of God with greater confidence, and most of all, pray – for one another and for others. Pray that we will stand firm, not failing to live under God’s gospel, nor failing to take his gospel to those around us.

If you have not already done so, let me encourage you to obtain copies of The Jesus Story: Seven Signs – a copy to revitalize your own faith and copies to pass on to others who don’t know what to believe. If you are in the US you can purchase copies through the button in the book banner below. If you are elsewhere purchases can be made through Amazon.

A prayer. Almighty God, give us grace so that we may cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came amongst us in great humility: so that on the last day, when he comes again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

© John G. Mason

In the concluding chapter of his book, Dominion (2019), Tom Holland draws together his theme of the ways Christianity has impacted “the rise and fall of empires, the actions of bishops and kings, the arguments of theologians, the course of revolutions, the planting of crosses around the world. Yet”, he comments, “that hardly tells the whole story.

“I have written much in this book about churches, and monasteries, and universities,” he writes, “but these were never where the mass of the Christian people were most influentially shaped. It was always in the home that children were likeliest to absorb the revolutionary teachings that, over the course of two thousand years, have come to be so taken for granted as almost to seem to be human nature. The Christian revolution was wrought above all at the knees of women.

“The success, then, of the most influential framework for making sense of human existence that has ever existed always depended on people like my Godmother: people who saw in the succession of one generation by another something more than merely the way of all the earth. Although she had no children of her own, she was a teacher, … and publicly honoured for it.

“As a Christian, … she had the hope of eternal life. It was a faith that she had received from her mother, who had received it in turn from her parents,  … And this was the tradition that my Godmother passed on to me” (p.519).

Let’s think about this. In the Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 4 we read: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

These words would have shocked the Roman world where a father was the autocratic head of the family, with untold power over his offspring. Paul’s command was revolutionary: parents – for mothers as well as fathers are included – are not to abuse their children, giving them cause for bitterness and anger. Rather, they are to provide a home of love and care, helping their children to grow in the knowledge and love, wisdom and self-discipline in the Lord.

The words of Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 through 7, written around 1200BC, come to mind: Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.

The one-ness and uniqueness of God echo a great theme of Genesis chapters 1 and 2. Behind the diversity and complexity of the universe there is one God who holds everything together and unifies it. We live in a meaningful, ordered world because everything that happens, no matter how varied, is all part of the one creation.

It’s crucial for us to understand this for it helps us begin to answer the question we all ask at some point: “Who am I?” The answer of Deuteronomy chapter 6 is that there is one God who is our creator. We won’t make sense of ourselves without him. Strip from the universe and our lives the notion of God who is Lord of his creative handiwork, and we’re left with an emptiness and sense of meaninglessness.

The God of Deuteronomy chapter 6 is not an abstract being, without meaning or message. This is even more so in the New Testament where, for example, we read in the Gospel of John: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the Father, full of grace and truth (1:14). And in Philippians chapter 2 we read: At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue will confess him as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Our world and our children need to hear these truths. We do great harm to our society and to the next generation if we so cram our children’s lives with activities and programs that they do not hear these truths. Yet how many parents fill their children’s lives with music before school, activities after school, and success at school that they never have time with them as a family to talk about the things of God.

Who should teach these things about God? Consider Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 6: Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.

Parents and family are the most important educational influence on children. It’s built into the very nature of family. Children don’t stop learning when they get home from school. They are learning every waking hour of the day. It’s one of the reasons they need to be guided in their use of phones, social media, and television viewing.

Despite research that suggests parents are handing over responsibility for their children’s education and training to schools, the best people to instil fundamental attitudes and form children’s moral lives are parents and family. This involves commitment but the rewards are great.

If you are a parent or grandparent, aunt or uncle or godparent, consider the example of your life – how much time you spend on your phone or in front of the big screen. Use the precious conversations around the dinner table, on walks, and at bedtime. Be known for your reading of the Bible and living it out, not just with words but also in your lifestyle.

Be prepared to answer questions about life – about right and wrong, life and death, about drugs and alcohol, about nuclear or climate concerns, about God. Speak plainly about what Jesus means to you. These are crucial times. Children’s experiences with family, and family connections, will live in their memories for a lifetime.

It’s in the home, as we instruct our children about God and Jesus Christ, that they learn their own value and self-esteem as a boy or girl, made in the image of God. It’s in the home they learn how to get on with other people and to respect authority and discipline. It’s in the home they develop as individuals and find their individuality accepted, appreciated and affirmed.

Parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents and godly family connections are well placed to blend the demands of society and the needs of the child in a way that affirms a child’s dignity and yet also makes them ready for society, to mix with other people and not just to be a self-centered little island.

Much more needs to be said about how we can pass on God’s good news from one generation to the next. A starting point is your own understanding of and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you will allow me a personal reference, have you taken up an opportunity to read The Jesus Story: Seven Signs to refresh your own faith as well as have a book to pass on to others? You can access it through the link below if you are in the US, or through Amazon.

A prayer. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, whose Son Jesus Christ shared at Nazareth the life of an earthly home: bless our homes, we pray. Help parents to impart the knowledge of you and your love; and children to respond with love and obedience. May our homes be blessed with peace and joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason

Everyone loves a story – the huge success of the Narnia books of CS Lewis, The Lord of the Rings from JRR Tolkien and, of course, JK Rowling’s, Harry Potter series, all come to mind.

But fiction is not the only form of story people long for. There is always wide-ranging interest in the personal stories of people – the successful and the unknown, recent and long-past. It is as though people find their own sense of identity and purpose in the story of others. This is especially true in troubling and challenging times – as we are currently experiencing.

With that thought in mind, come with me to the story of the man who, as HG Wells – author of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds – once observed, is “irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history”.

In the course of preaching sermons on John’s Gospel last year I was struck afresh by the conversations that we read in chapter 14.

The chapter opens with a dark cloud hanging over the close followers of Jesus. For three years they had followed him with increasing confidence that he was someone very different from anyone they knew. But he had just told them that within a matter of hours he was going away. They were in a state of shock.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus said. “Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:1-3).

At this, Thomas, one of his followers, expressed his frustration: ‘We don’t know where you’re going’, he said. ‘How can we know the way?’ We might sympathize with Thomas. The idea of Jesus going to heaven and preparing a place for his followers seems far-fetched.

Let’s think about this. Many people will never admit that their view about life is wrong – that there might be more to life than the material world we experience. There are even people like this in churches: they say the creed, but they don’t really believe it; they might give the impression of spirituality but there’s no substance to it.

At least Thomas is prepared to admit he didn’t understand. But while Jesus doesn’t belittle him, his response is nevertheless startling: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father but by me” (14:6). ‘If you truly know me Thomas, you would know what I am talking about.’ Significantly, Jesus doesn’t say, “I’ll show you the way” but “I am the way”; he doesn’t say, “I’ll tell you the truth” but “I am the truth”; he doesn’t say, “I’ll give you eternal life” rather, “I am the life”.

It’s as though Jesus is saying, the path to life beyond the grave involves a relationship, a relationship you already have – a relationship with me. His words are incredible: he is saying that behind the universe is not a mathematical equation or a scientific formula but a person.

John Lennox, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy at Oxford University, has written: “The rational intelligibility of the universe,… points to the existence of the Mind that was responsible both for the universe and our minds. It is for this reason that we are able to do science and to discover the beautiful mathematical structures that underlie the phenomena we can observe.” (cited in PW Barnett, Gospel Truth, p.21)

Jesus is saying that the impossible has happened: God has come amongst us in person and that he is the one. His words echo what we read in the introduction to John’s Gospel: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In John chapter 14, Jesus is saying that the only way to make sense of our human existence is by recognising that he is the complex person who is the Mind behind the universe. And, while it seems impossible, he is that person.

As the chapter moves on, we discover that Thomas’ frustration leads to a request from Phillip: “Lord show us the Father. That’s all we need,” he says (14:8).

Philip wanted to know what every religion wants to know: What is God like? He wanted some tangible experience of God that would sweep away his doubts. He might have been thinking of God’s special appearance to Moses at the burning bush. He wanted to see God.

Again, Jesus’ response is astounding: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9). We would not have been surprised if Jesus had replied, ‘Philip, you’re asking the impossible’. Rather he says, ‘Don’t you know me Philip, even after I’ve been among you over these years? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father?”’

Some people think of Jesus as one of history’s great teachers. But this doesn’t come anywhere near to what Jesus was saying. He is saying that he is not just God’s emissary or ambassador, but God himself. He was claiming the impossible – to be God in our midst.

Consider how Jesus continues. We read his words in verse 11: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.

Jesus anticipated their doubts. Think about it, he is saying. You’ve seen me turn water into first-class wine. You have also seen me perform many other miraculous acts that no-one else has ever been able to do – including bringing out of a tomb a man who had been dead for four days. ‘Doesn’t that tell you something about me?’ he is asking.

In a new book, The Jesus Story: Seven Signs, I have taken up Jesus’s words in his response to Philip’s request (14:8): “…Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves” (14:11). The works are the signs.

Many people today have no problem with the existence of Jesus and the idea that he was a good man. However, they’re unaware of the real Jesus story that points to his uniqueness and divinity, and the life and hope he offers us.

John’s Gospel is sometimes called the book of the signs. My book takes up the gospel story for those who believe and those who don’t know what to believe. It is written to encourage and reassure God’s people before being handed on to others with an invitation to find out more.

Copies can be purchased in the US using the banner below, or anywhere else from Amazon at: The Jesus Story: Seven Signs, John G. Mason.

Prayer. Lord Christ, eternal Word and Light of the Father’s glory: send your light and your truth so that we may both know and proclaim your word of life, to the glory of God the Father; for you now live and reign, God for all eternity. Amen.

© John G. Mason

Can we help our broken and divided world find hope and peace? Or has the voice of God’s people been silenced? As I point out in my recent book, The Jesus Story: Seven Signs, Tom Holland in Dominion traces the influences of the Jesus story on the West, including the values of right and wrong, justice and compassion.

In his Letter to God’s People in Colossae, Paul the Apostle writes of the hope that has awakened their faith in Christ Jesus and their love for one another. He reminds them that this hope is found in God’s good news which is itself grounded in the truth.

What is more, he observes that not only were God’s people in Colossae growing in their faith, love and hope, but God’s good news was bearing fruit and growing in the whole world.

These words are very encouraging for us today.

Let’s consider the flow of Paul’s thought: He begins by thanking God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ for their faith in Christ Jesus and the love they have for all the saints,… because of the hope laid up for them in heaven (1:3-5). There is a causal link between hope and faith and love. Hope is not the consequence of faith and love. Rather, hope has awakened them.

This is so important. The hope that we have is the motivation for our faith and love.

Let’s consider this. In First Corinthians chapter 15, as we have recently seen, Paul writes of the reality and significance of Jesus’ physical resurrection from the dead. He points out that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, our own future resurrection from the dead is negated. Our professed faith would be meaningless and the associated Christian morality a joke. As he says in verse 32, if the dead do not rise, we may as well ‘eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’.

The hope of which Paul speaks in Colossians chapter 1, verse 6 is not a baseless optimism. It is a certain hope.

In verses 5b – 6 he writes: Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing – as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, …

It’s important to notice the emphasis Paul puts on the word truth. The gospel, is literally, the word of the truth. He could have left out any reference to the words, the truth, but he doesn’t. He wants to stress that the essence of the Christian message is true.

Reflecting on this, we can see that God’s good news is beyond human invention and imagination. No one of us would have invented a God who was prepared to forgive a self-preoccupied and faithless world by such a costly and humiliating death as occurred at Calvary.

The gospel is also true, historically. Paul implies that that the accounts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are no invention. The records are true and trustworthy, supported by eyewitnesses.

Furthermore, the gospel is true experientially. By this I mean that when people put their trust in Jesus Christ who is at the center of the gospel, they discover that their faith is not a hoax.

It’s so important we are assured that our faith and our love for one another as God’s people are based on the hope that is laid up for us in heaven. We need to ask ourselves, “Is my faith, love and hope a response to God’s good news?” Paul assures us it is the truth, and nothing but the truth.

Indeed, we need to pray that God’s Spirit will awaken within us, as he did in the lives of the Colossian Christians, an ever-deepening love for the Lord Jesus, and for his people across social, cultural, and racial divides.

In the 2nd century, God’s people in the Roman world were under great suspicion. Tertullian, one of the church leaders at the time, responded by contrasting Christians with the Roman society: ‘Look, they (the Romans) say, ‘How they (the Christians) love one another’ (for they themselves, the Romans, hate one another); ‘and how they are ready to die for each other, for they themselves (the Romans) are readier to kill each other’.

Furthermore, it’s worth praying for opportunities to talk with others about the inconsistencies and unworkable nature of the diversity that careless and false narratives are imposing on the western world.

Robert Letham, for example, observes that ‘the world of postmodernism is entirely arbitrary. If the emotions trump reason, we have no rational grounds for anything… Postmodernism cannot stand the test of everyday life’, he says. ‘It does not work, and will not work. It fails the test of Ludwig Wittgenstein, who insisted that language and philosophy must have “cash value” in terms of the real world in which we go about our business from day to day. To do that, we assume that there is an objective world and act accordingly. If there is not, life could not go on’ (Letham, The Holy Trinity, pp.452f).

Because God’s good news is based in the initiative and promises of the living God, we can be assured that his word and work will continue in today’s world. God’s passion is to rescue the lost. But we too, have a part to play: the testimony of our faith, the example of our love – which includes forgiving those whom we believe have wronged us – and the reality of the hope we have, will all bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. Above all, we need to pray that God in his mercy will send his Spirit into the world, opening blind eyes to the truth of the hope, the joy, and the peace that God holds out to us.

If you have not already done so, let me encourage you to obtain copies of The Jesus Story: Seven Signs to read for yourself and to pass on to others. You can use the button in the banner below or, if you are outside the US, you can get copies through Amazon.

Prayers. Lord Christ, eternal Word and Light of the Father’s glory: send your light and your truth so that we may both know and proclaim your word of life, to the glory of God the Father; for you now live and reign, God for all eternity. Amen.

Grant us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always such things as are right, so that we who cannot do anything that is good without you, may in your strength be able to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason