Talking to yourself outloud has often been interpreted as the first sign of madness and we may feel uncomfortable about the whole topic of talking to ourselves. It’s far more likely there is an internal conversation going on within us; sometimes we’re not really even aware of this, since it functions on a subconscious level. But whether we realise it or not, quite often we are talking to ourselves regularly, reminding ourselves to do things, chiding ourselves when we forget something, rebuking, encouraging and chivvying ourselves into action.

Perhaps it is good, however, to move these conversations from the subconscious level to the conscious level, for Lam 3:24 says ‘I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”’ There are times when it is good and helpful to talk to ourselves, to remind ourselves of God’s promises, even to speak these words outloud. As we saw in the previous post, there is power in God’s Word to banish darkness, allowing truth to take a hold in our lives. Today, if we’re talking to ourselves, let’s make sure we’re talking truth!

There are times when life seems serene and calm and everything is going smoothly; there are also times when life seems like battling in a raging storm when you can barely stand up, let alone move forward. Winds and floods have battered the UK over recent months and in the winds just before Christmas, my husband said he had actually struggled to keep standing as he walked from one building at work to another because he was effectively caught in a ‘wind tunnel’ at that point.

When we are in those times of battle – which can be invisible to other people and almost inexplicable even to our own hearts – it is very difficult to hold on, let alone find weapons of victory. But God has promised that no weapon forged against us will prevail (Is 54:17) and has actually given us spiritual weapons with which to fight back (Eph 6:11-17). One of those weapons is called ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’ The power contained in God’s word, when released into our lives, not only sets us free but enables us to stand, even in the fiercest storms. Recently, I read this in a friend’s blog (reproduced with her permission):

‘His Gr…‘ You clear your throat. These words are important, but as you speak, the darkness grows heavier and the silence grows louder, overwhelming your thoughts and intercepting your words. You are fighting back the darkness, and you have only these few short words.

‘His Grace is sufficient.‘ A break in the silence. ‘And His power…‘ It is too much, the darkness is getting heavier, overwhelming and overtaking you.  But you have to speak. The only way to get rid of the darkness is to bring in the light. You try again.

‘His Grace is sufficient. And His power is made perfect in weakness.’ As the words are released into the silence, something breaks through the darkness. A light. Dim, at first, but growing brighter with every word. You look around you, but the light is not there. And yet the darkness is retreating. You glance down. The light, it is coming from inside of you. It is radiating its bright yellow-white rays from your heart. And as you speak words of truth, it glows brighter still.

‘There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ The light burns brighter.
‘In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.’ The darkness is retreating.
‘He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion.‘ The heaviness is dissipating.
‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.‘ The air clears.
‘He who is in me is greater than He who is in the world.‘ The light bursts forth from within you, and suddenly, there is no longer any darkness. You are bathed in glorious light. Radiating from within, it is shining its truth over you, eclipsing the darkness which had threatened to overwhelm. You are free from the heaviness, the oppression, the battles, the lies, the hurts. The light has overcome that which you could not.

‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’ – John 1:5

Since I worked for many years as a French teacher, the subject of languages is one very dear to my heart and I have always been interested in Bible translation. As Stephen highlighted last night, it is not always easy to understand how or why certain phrases are translated as they are in our Bibles. Literal, word-for-word translations often don’t help us much in understanding what God is actually saying to us, because languages are constructed in different ways. Word order, verb endings, pronouns and all the other grammatical functions which help us to analyse and understand languages tend to vary from one language to the next and so it is important to be clear about these things when we are reading the different versions of the Bible available to us. There are a number of key things translators have to look for when translating: as the preface to the widely used New International Version of the Bible says, ‘The first concern of the translators has continued to be the accuracy of the translation and its faithfulness to the intended meaning of the biblical writers. This has moved the translators to go beyond a formal word-for-word rendering of the original texts. Because thought patterns and syntax differ from language to language, accurate communication of the meaning of the biblical authors demands constant regard for varied contextual uses of words and idioms and for frequent modifications in sentence structures.’

Organisations such as Bible Society and Wycliffe Bible Translators work tirelessly to translate the Bible into languages for people who have never had the privilege of reading God’s Word in their mother tongue. Wycliffe calculate that there are approximately 7 billion people alive today, speaking almost 7,000 languages. Almost 2,000 of these languages do not have the Bible yet, with only 513 language groups having access to the entire Bible in the language they understand best. Those of us who own many different versions of the Bible in English are privileged people who can study and learn from God’s Word in the privacy of our own homes as well as when we attend church. Those of us who have the honour of teaching God’s Word need to remember Paul’s injunction to Timothy: ‘ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.’ (2 Tim 2:15) All of us need to be aware of how easily misunderstandings can occur as we seek to dig deep into a book whose context, history and culture have to be taken into account as we read. Nonetheless, this remains a living word (Heb 4:12) through which God speaks to us each day if we have ears to hear..

Stephen spoke on the subject of knowing God’s will last night. This can be difficult for us to discern at times; understanding the language of the Bible (since the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek) makes this even harder to understand, since translation can cause issues of misunderstanding at times. There are two main Greek words translated  by the noun ‘will’ in the New Testament: boulema & thelema. The former (used in Rom 9:19, for example) speaks of God’s plan or intention which cannot be thwarted. In Gen 1:3, God speaks His will into being and nothing can stop this! The perceptive will of God (thelema) can be resisted by people, however, for we have free will. It is God’s will that we do not sin, for example, but there are times when we do sin and are clearly not following God’s will on those occasions.

Sometimes we speak also of God’s general will and His specific will. His general will encompasses all that we know God wants: for  us to do good (1 Pet 2:15), for us to give thanks (1 Thess 5:18), for example. Jesus is our perfect example of doing the Father’s will (John 4:34, John 6:38), demonstrating in the Garden of Gethsemane His complete humility and surrender to God’s will (Matt 26:39). Knowing God’s will for our own everyday lives is critical also, however. Col 1:9-14 records Paul’s prayer that the Colossians might be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so that they can live lives worthy of the Lord. Understanding God’s will (see Eph 5:10) is paramount for our lives; we need to be open and receptive to God’s will and ready to receive from him. As we make Ps 143:10 our prayer, we can be encouraged that God’s Spirit (who will lead us in all matters) dwells in us and will enable us to grow in patience, endurance and thanksgiving. Then we will be able to stand firm in the will of God, being mature and fully assured. (Col 4:12)

This morning we looked at 1 Tim 6:6 (‘But godliness with contentment is great gain’) as we continued studying signs of spiritual growth and maturity. Godliness (devout piety, sacred awe, reverence for God) is developed within us as we long to be like God in all we are and all we do. As we grow, we become people who have a heart for the things God loves (‘chasing Your heart, just like David did‘, as Phil Wickham sings in ‘Carry My Soul’), people who fear God, love God and desire God. Devotion to God, then, is the mainspring of godly character and this devotion is the only motivation for Christian behaviour that is pleasing to God.

The word ‘godliness’ does not appear often in the New Testament (1 Tim 2:2, 1 Tim 3:16, 1 Tim 4:8, 1 Tim 6:11, 2 Pet 1:6), but the theme permeates our understanding of growth. Godliness is all about living like Jesus lived, about pursuing God with all your heart so that in the end all that is seen is God. Maturity means that people see more of God than they do of us. It’s not the same as perfection (our Bible studies are showing there is no such thing as sinless perfection on this earth for people!). but will be developed in us as we fix our eyes on Jesus and train ourselves, like the athlete or gymnast does.

Contentment is the other aspect mentioned in 1 Tim 6:6. We live in a very dissatisfied age where consumerism has become our culture and it is very hard to escape its tentacles, but Paul’s words in Phil 4:10-13 show us the attitude of the mature. Success comes not from the ‘stuff’ we own or the things we do but from living contentedly as God would have us live. The Message defines contentment as ‘the rich simplicity of being yourself before God.’ For us to be able to live contented lives, free from a love of money and free from this insidious consumer culture which keeps on relentlessly pushing us to earn more so we can buy more so we can have what is necessary for us to be happy, we have to understand that our world view has to change so that we see things the way God sees them. As we learn to pursue God and His heart, we find happiness and satisfaction in Him (Ps 16:11), knowing that He is all we need and all we desire.

In tonight’s Bible study, we looked at 1 John 2:1-2 – the problem of sin and God’s solution! John is writing his letter to his ‘dear children’ (a phrase found predominantly in this letter) so that they will not sin, but he is well aware that we do still sin and so he reminds his readers of the solution to sin: one who is an Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous One’ whose atoning sacrifice is sufficient not only for our sins but for the sins of the world!

The word translated as ‘advocate’ is in Greek parakletos, a word used elsewhere (John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7) of the Holy Spirit. It can be translated counsellor or comforter, but in the legal sense meant ‘one who pleads another’s cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defence, legal assistant.’ (Thayer) Christ pleads our cause against the accuser (Rev 12:10) but also with the Father, not as a judge (for we have already passed from death to life – see John 5:24) but as one who lovingly offers forgiveness to us. Our advocate is Jesus Christ (the name reminds us of both His humanity and His messianic office – see Heb 2:14-15) who is the Righteous One. (2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pet 3:18) No one is righteous before God (Rom 3:10), hence we need One who is righteous to make us right with God: as Martin Luther said, ‘The righteousness of Christ stands on our side; for God’s righteousness is, in Jesus Christ, ours.’

Because Christ is righteous, the offering He makes (known as an ‘atoning sacrifice’ or ‘propitiation’ or ‘expiation’) is satisfactory to God. The means by which God’s wrath is averted is not a bribe; the initiation of propitiation is entirely ascribed to God (1 John 3:16, 1 John 4:10) God’s wrath is not averted by any external gift (as was the case in pagan worship), but by His own self-giving to die the death of sinners. We are therefore reassured that ‘if anyone does sin’, God already has provided a solution for our sin in the sacrifice and character of His Son, Jesus Christ!