The proof of Jesus’ authenticity was his ability to do the impossible. He did perfectly what no human has ever been able to do. But Paul then says in Philippians 2:5, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” 

So that’s the proof of our authenticity too: it’s doing the impossible. And the impossible in one particular attitude of Jesus too, that he “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,” verse 6. Which rings a rather large bell, because Adam and Eve, picturing all of us, took an immediate liking to the serpent’s claim that “your eyes will be opened and you’ll be like God” – you can “grasp equality with God,” in other words.  

So God got the point across very quickly that we humans are suckers for wanting to be like him. But Jesus as a human like Adam and Eve and the rest of us, did the opposite: he “made himself nothing,” stripped himself willingly of all his divine privileges, “and chose instead the humbling position of a slave” (7), because the driving force in his life was to obey his Father’s will, without any gain to himself or the slightest hint of “selfish ambition or vain conceit” (3). 

Impossible? Absolutely. Good, because if we find ourselves rather surprisingly operating on the same wavelength as Jesus once in a while, there’s our proof that our Christianity is real. And especially in a world driven by people in leadership positions who blatantly make it obvious they are driven by selfish ambition and vain conceit, and they’ll do anything to protect their privileged status. They feed on the “divine right” they give themselves to decide what’s good and evil for the rest of us, create a bureaucracy that serves their interests rather than serving ours, and woe to anyone who dares to expose or threaten them.

It’s very tempting, therefore, to simply give in to being like that too, because if our noble leaders are like that, why can’t we?

But Jesus chose a human life in a world just like ours in its attitudes, so he knew firsthand that in such a world “we’ll have trouble” resisting it, John 16:33. “But take heart,” he said, because “I overcame it.” He never gave in to it. Which in our day to day experience by comparison seems impossible. But Jesus is saying, “No, it isn’t,” because in his life and teaching (same verse) he gave us the clue to “How the impossible becomes possible”….(next blog)

Jesus taught a ton of theory, like “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” the obvious intention being that we try it to find out. Because in trying it out, or “putting it into practice,” as Paul said in Philippians 4:9, the promise that comes with it is “the God of peace will be with you.”

And it’s the same with being “poor in spirit,” because it has a promise that comes with putting it into practice too: it’s being “Blessed,” Matthew 5:3, which in Greek, makarios, means “divinely blessed.” So this is more than just human happiness on offer, it’s God’s direct and very personal way of forming what we’re seeking into something absolutely real in our very own day-to-day experience. 

He’s flung open the doors of heaven so we’re living in a world we never knew existed. But that’s exactly what Jesus said would happen in verse 3, when he promised “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” That now becomes ours. The streets of heaven are ours to tread and shop freely for all that Jesus offered.

And it’s ours for simply wanting to put what he taught in this verse into practice – but even that was stirred in our minds by God too. When Jesus promised he’d give us his peace in John 14:27, for instance, he said in the verse before that “the Holy Spirit will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (26). So it’s the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven by the Father himself, who stirs the interest in what Jesus taught, to get us off our duffs to try it out, so we get to experience the loaded promises that come with it.

The reality and beauty of all this must have hit Paul with a whomp, because it stirred him to write in Philippians 2:12, “You don’t need me around to get you working out your salvation with fear and trembling, because it’s God (13) who is at work in you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose.” You know the ropes, he’s saying: keep putting what Jesus taught into practice, that God stirred in you in the first place, because he then, by his divine blessing, will make it real.  

Which explains why Paul talks of “fear and trembling,” because in the Greek it’s hinting at panic, the ghastly thought that life is going by and what Jesus taught is all just theory and it still isn’t real. But God has an ace up his sleeve to make it real when it dawns on us we’re “Doing the impossible”….(next blog)

So why do so many people wanting to escape their nations seek refuge in Christian-based nations? And why, if they say their religion and beliefs are so great, don’t they stay in the nations that taught those beliefs?

Clearly, there’s something far more attractive to people seeking peace and well being in nations where God’s peace has been taught and practiced. But of late that trend seems to be changing, as immigrants to Christian-based nations, as well as those born in them, are leaving in increasing numbers. 

Several reasons for doing so are expressed, but the main ones seem to be, “The country I fled to isn’t what I thought it would be,” or, say the native-born, “My country is not the same as the one I grew up in.” 

That’s the perception, so is there any connection between it and unChristian narratives becoming ever more popular in schools, universities, mainstream media, social media, and in politics, and even in supposedly Christian churches too? 

An obvious answer to that would be, “Well, what if we get back to good old Christian values and see what happens?” Judge by the fruits. See if Jesus’ teaching about “the things that make for peace” really work – things like: “In everything do to others what you would have them do to you” in Matthew 7:12, for instance. 

The obvious result of that would be peace, but the proof of our own history is that no matter how deeply and sincerely we’ve wanted peace – and all religions acknowledging the truth of that verse as well – peace, permanent peace, hasn’t happened.

Ah but, Jesus also said in verse 11, “your Father in heaven gives good gifts to those who ask him.” And since he wants to give us peace and sent Jesus to tell us that, we get to experience if it’s true that “everyone who asks receives” (8). 

Have we got the means of restoring God’s peace in our nations at our fingertips, then? It’s right there in Jesus’ teaching – plus his promise that we’ll receive all the help we need to live it too – because isn’t it great “When theory becomes real”?….(next blog) 

What brought Jesus to tears was the pitiful state of his fellow Jews and Israelites not grasping “the things that make for peace,” Luke 19:41-42.

It was so sad, because he’d come “to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace” (1:79). So they had peace in their grasp, the very thing Jesus knew they’d been longing for under the brutal rule of the Romans and the stifling rule of their own religious leaders. And into this suffocating, hopeless world he’d come, boldly announcing in every town and village he visited, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17) – or as we might say, “Stop feeling sorry for yourselves, because what you’ve been longing for is on its way as promised.”

They knew what was promised too, that one day, Isaiah 9:7, “the increase of God’s government and peace” would be established forever on this planet. To hear from Jesus, then, that the time had arrived to begin setting it up was the best news possible. So, go on, people, “believe the good news” (Mark 1:15) and get in on it too, to experience for themselves the peace that God was now making possible.

Because Jesus also knew the consequences in Luke 19 if they didn’t, the first of which was the things that make for peace being “hidden from your eyes” (42). They’d lose all sight of how to make peace, which is exactly what’s been happening today as well, as new ideologies promising utopia and saving the world from disaster replace faith in – and even interest in – biblical values. What Jesus taught about peace is being swamped in a flood of ideas that are already causing havoc and division. Worse still – no one seems to know what to do about it: it’s “hidden from their eyes,” just as Jesus predicted for the people of his day too.

The second and far more harrowing consequence that caused Jesus to cry was knowing the horror that awaited as vicious enemies invaded their land (43), just as Christian countries today are also being taken over by invaders causing mayhem. 

We’re experiencing the same consequences Jesus predicted for his day, and for the same reason too – “because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (44). God got the information about peace to us that made us into Christian nations; we dismiss it to our peril. So “Can we restore God’s peace in our nations?”….(next blog)

According to the Bible, God has given us humans the chance to experience the “God-style” peace that he experiences. And being its usual practical self, the Bible also tells us how we get his peace, and what happens to us when we’ve got it, so we can judge by the fruits in our own experience if we’ve got it and whether it’s worth it, or not.

It was Jesus who originally came up with these thoughts when he told his disciples in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you,” with the added emphasis that “I do not give to you as the world gives.” So this would be an extraordinary peace beyond anything we humans can create, the first and obvious symptom of which is revealed in Jesus’ next statement, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  

The Greek word for “peace” in this verse conveys that thought exactly: it’s eirene (air-ray-nay), meaning “to bind, join, weave together,” which Paul used when wishing “grace and peace” on the churches in his care, Colossians 1:2. Because when people were bonded and woven together with God and with each other (4), that’s what gave them eirene, from which we get the word serenity – the “untroubled heart” that Jesus promised in John 14:27. 

Paul expanded on this in Philippians 4:7, when he speaks of “the peace of God guarding our hearts and minds,” so that eirene, serenity, an untroubled heart, will be our constant experience. Which is why he could say, “Let your gentleness be evident to all” (5), because it’s so much easier being calm with people when we’re inwardly serene. 

Which explains why Paul bursts out with: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” in verse 4 – because in his experience this inner serenity brought joy too. And again in his experience, when we’re “not anxious about anything” (6) we’re freed up to enjoy “what’s true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy” (8). 

We can then judge by the fruits what that “God-style” peace does to us, and whether it’s worth it, or not. Paul’s advice in verse 9, therefore, is “put into practice” what he says, because if we’re willing to give it a whirl, Paul guarantees that “the God of peace will be with you.” According to Paul, then, If we’re seeking that inner serenity, God will make sure we get it, because in Paul’s own experience it was well worth the “joy” and “refreshing” that came with it (Romans 15:32-33). So, what are “The things that make for peace” then?….(next blog)

In many nations rooted and built on Christian values, new ideas and ideologies are being tried that sound Christian too, like the new religion of ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Equity’ and its offshoots of justice, accessibility and belonging. 

It sounds really good too, but how is it working out in practice? – taking into account Jesus’ advice in Matthew 7:15, to “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Fortunately, verse 16, “By their fruit you will recognize them.”

The same could be said of Christianity too, of course, because we’ve got 2,000 years of Christian practice to look back on to judge it by its fruits too. Has Christianity, for instance, done more harm than good, or more good than harm? Or, since we’re all fallible human beings, has Christianity, despite its obvious faults and horrific blunders, at least come up with a record that shows it’s been better for the world than what non-Christians have come up with?   

But how does one judge that? Christians and non-Christians have both shown they are capable of doing good and even great deeds, but equally horrible deeds too. We can name names and historical records of both good and bad on both sides. And it’s amazing how quite evil people can do loving things, while supposedly loving people in the Christian fold can hate, shoot to kill, follow tyrannical leaders, and be just as unforgiving, arrogant, judgmental and jealous as non-Christians. 

So why is Christianity so good for the world? Because it’s meant to create people who “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to building each other up,” Romans 14:19, based on the dawning realization that “anyone who serves Christ in this way is deeply pleasing to God – and passes the trust test with people too” (18). 

Peace, therefore, becomes the driving force in a Christian’s life, just as it will be for Jesus when he sets up his government on earth in Isaiah 9:7. In the meanwhile, we get the chance to see and learn what God means by peace and how it works in practice. Taking into account that the kind of peace Jesus promised in John 14:27 is nothing like what this world comes up with to create peace. His peace is beyond our best efforts, and beyond what we can even imagine too (Philippians 4:7). But we can judge by the fruits in our lives and the lives of others if it works. So “What is peace God-style like?”….(next blog) 

Jacob pronounces an amazing blessing on his son Joseph, starting in Genesis 48:15 and finishing off in verse 20, when Jacob says to Joseph, “In your name (Joseph) will Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

Jacob was right too, because Israelites and Jews have been pronouncing that very blessing on their sons for centuries, and still do today. With good reason too, when taking into account how Jacob’s blessing on Joseph unfolded in Joseph’s life first of all, because Joseph had an enormous impact on the Egyptians and the world where he grew up. 

When Joseph got permission from the Pharaoh in Genesis 50:5-6 to go back to Canaan to bury his father, “All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him – the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt” (7).

The whole lot went with Joseph, all the top officials running the country. “Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, it was a very large company” (9). And after several days travelling and feeding that huge company and finally arriving at Jacob’s burial spot, they all “lamented loudly and bitterly” while Joseph “observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father” (10). And they were all willing to do this because of their deep respect for Joseph. Not only had he impacted their world, he’d impacted these Egyptians personally too.

Which brought to mind what Christianity has done to people and the nations where it has grown too. Because we’re now discovering what happens when Christian nations ditch their Christian heritage for man-made alternatives. And especially in those nations that many have thought are the modern day manifestation of the original Ephraim and Manasseh, on whom Jacob’s blessing was pronounced.

Because a child could colour in the nations on a map where Christianity took root and prospered, due to the obvious and enormous impact on those nations’ economies and well being. Which ties in so well with God’s promise to Abraham to bless the whole world, because when people cotton on to what Christ accomplished in his death, and now in his resurrection, the nations in which they live change hugely for the better, and so do the people – just as they did in Joseph’s day.  

In which case what is it about the Christian message that creates such an impact? Or put another way, “Why is Christianity so good for the world?”….(next blog)

Manasseh was Joseph’s oldest son, but when Jacob blessed Joseph’s two boys he put Ephraim first. No reason is given at the time as to why Jacob did that, but in asking God to “bless these boys,” Genesis 48:16, Jacob somehow knew that God wanted Ephraim the younger of the two boys, and not the firstborn, to receive the “greater” blessing (19).

Is there a clue, then, in the names Joseph gave to his boys? For his oldest son, Joseph chose the name Manasseh, meaning “he that causes to forget,” Genesis 41:51, in memory of God giving Joseph cause to forget being ripped out of his family by his jealous brothers and being sold into slavery denying Joseph a normal childhood and a Dad who loved him. And anyone who’s been through that, knows it’s the worst thing that can happen to a growing boy, leaving him feeling very bitter toward his family, as we see later in how harshly Joseph treated his brothers in Egypt. To be able to put his past behind him, then, was a great blessing from God.

It’s also the great blessing Jesus made possible by his sacrifice, that’s enabled billions of people to put the past behind and wash it away like water down a plug hole, and be given a fresh start knowing all is forgiven – and being able to forgive too, just as Joseph was able to forgive his brothers. It’s an essential part of why the gospel message is good news.

But in the name Joseph gave his second son, Ephraim, there’s a blessing even greater. Ephraim meant “to be fruitful,” in memory of God making Joseph “fruitful in the land of my suffering,” Genesis 41:52. Which is what God has offered us in the resurrection of Jesus. Despite our past and despite the suffering of having to live in a world that has little interest in God, we can live a fruitful life, full of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

This is where Jesus put the emphasis with his disciples too, when he told them in John 15:16, “I chose you to go and bear fruit.” We can look forward, therefore, to a productive life, being “able to accomplish infinitely more than we even think to ask for or dream of, through his power working in us,” Ephesians 3:20. So this part of the blessing looks forward to a lifetime of wonderful changes in us. Putting the past behind is great – but a lifetime of growth is even better, which is why Jacob put Ephraim first. Both are essential to the gospel message, which is why “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh” is still a great blessing today – and not just for Jewish sons, it’s for the whole world, as we see in “The impact Joseph had on his world”….(next blog)

Around the world on Friday evenings a special blessing is wished upon Jewish sons, taken from Genesis 48:20 – “May you be like Ephraim and Manasseh.” But in the hope of what, exactly? 

Well, in verse 19, both boys were promised amazing blessings: Manasseh would become a great nation, and Ephraim an even greater group of nations. Jacob also included the blessing, “May they increase greatly upon the earth” (16), because in both boys inheriting “the names of Abraham and Isaac” they would also inherit the promise of a huge number of descendants that God made to Abraham (15:5) and Isaac (26:24), and to Jacob as well (28:14). So in wanting their sons to be like Ephraim and Manasseh, is it many children that Jewish fathers are hoping their sons will have, or that their boys will become great? 

But did the promised blessings for Ephraim and Manasseh come to pass? For Ephraim, yes, because Joshua was an Ephraimite and it was under his leadership that Israel became a “group of nations” or tribes, which did grow greatly in numbers. Unfortunately however, it was another Ephraimite, Jeroboam, who split the nation of Israel in two, whose evil deeds then led to ten of the northern tribes being taken into exile and never recovering their former state.

And Manasseh? Well, his descendants inherited the largest amount of usable land, making it a “great nation” within the tribes of Israel, but it too went into exile with Ephraim. So why would any father want his children to be like Ephraim and Manasseh? But clearly God had something in mind for the two boys to play their part in the fulfillment of his promise to Abraham to bless “all peoples on earth” (12:3) – a promise that still exists today too, but how?

There’s a clue in the boys’ names in Genesis 41. Joseph named Manasseh he that causes to forget, “because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household” (51). He named Ephraim to be fruitful, “because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering” (52). The two together are the two great blessings in the gospel message today: Jesus’ sacrifice gives us cause to forget all past troubles in life and family, and start afresh. And with his resurrection and the giving of the Spirit we become fruitful in our growing likeness to him. 

So, “May God make us like Ephraim and Manasseh” is a great blessing that’s alive and well today, because “The gospel was in their names” too….(next blog)

Hearing his father is ill Joseph drops by with his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, Genesis 48:1-2. On arrival, Jacob asks Joseph to bring the boys close to him so he can pronounce a blessing on them (8-10).

Joseph already knows that his Dad has made Ephraim and Manasseh the next in line to inherit the blessings God promised to Abraham (3-5), so he assumes that Manasseh being the oldest gets the special firstborn’s blessing. Jacob’s eyesight, however, has reached the point he can “hardly see” (10), so Joseph places Ephraim, the youngest of the two boys, close to Jacob’s left hand, and Manasseh the oldest to Jacob’s right hand (13) – the right hand signifying a special place of honour and pre-eminence, as in Jesus being seated at the “right hand of God” (Ephesians 1:19-21).

But with no explanation given, Jacob switches hands so that his right hand is now on Ephraim’s head, not Manasseh’s (14).

This does not go down well with Joseph. He’s thoroughly “displeased” (17), which in Hebrew indicates he felt his Dad was absolutely wrong doing this, and even bordering on evil, so he tries to remove Jacob’s right hand and put it back on Manasseh’s head, at the same time saying, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head” (17-18). And knowing how much Joseph revered his Dad (12), this must have really bothered him, enough for him to make such a challenge. 

But for years Joseph had been steeped in the importance of the firstborn son’s rights in Egyptian tradition (seen later in how devastated Egypt was by the killing of all their firstborn in Exodus 12:29-30). On the other hand,  Jacob had just blessed Joseph saying it was God who was “blessing these boys” (15-16), so Joseph didn’t need to doubt what his Dad was doing. And clearly his Dad did know what he was doing, because, as he also says in verse 15, “God has been my Shepherd all my life to this day,” which, therefore, would include that same day too. 

It was an awkward moment, but with years of experiencing being “delivered from all harm” (16), Jacob calmly replies in verse 19, “I know, my son, I know,” acknowledging his son’s concern, but at the same time refusing to budge his hands and continuing with what he’d asked Joseph to bring his two boys close to him for, which turned out to be “Two amazing blessings”….(next blog)