Study 4 - 2007: February 26th - 4th March

Never Alone.
Reading – John Chapter Ch 5:30 to 37.

Jesus says; “I can do nothing on my own authority; I judge only as God tells me, so my judgement is right, because I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he wants. If I testify on my own behalf, what I say is not to be accepted as real proof.___ I have a witness on my behalf which is greater than the witness John gave: what I do, that is, the deeds my Father gave me to do, these speak on my behalf and show that the Father has sent me. And the Father, who sent me, also testifies on my behalf.” John Chapter 5:verses 30 to 31 and verses 36 to 37 (Today’s English Version).

One of the main reasons many of us play golf is to play with our mates. You don’t see a lot of serious golfers playing on their own on a regular basis. One of the reasons for this is it is good to share the experience with friends. And while it is good to play with many different people at your club, for many golfers, they have a circle of friends that they play with on a regular basis.
The world is a lot bigger when shared with friends.

In our reading from John today, Jesus shows that his life was not a life on its own. John the Baptist came before him and they shared a brief time together as friends with John pointing everyone to Jesus as the arrival of God’s new way of life. But Jesus had another mate as well. He speaks constantly in his teaching and ministry that God is with him. That he does nothing on his own accord, but that God has sent him, is with him and that he comes with the authority of God.
One of the great things in life with God is that we are never alone. People can be absent, but God is always with us. When we open our lives to God, the good thing is that God doesn’t want us to be alone or keep our faith in him private, but to share our lives with others.

I find it disappointing today how many people talk about their faith in God as if it is only something private, personal and their own. They talk about no need for church; many talk about spending time with God in the garden or some other special place. But this is not the faith that Jesus came to establish. For Jesus, his life was a public one, shared with his close disciples, the crowds and any who came to him.

We are called by God to love our neighbours as much as we love ourselves, so Christianity at its heart is a social way of life where the lives of others around us are as valuable as our own.

That’s why in golf, when we have an opportunity to play golf with a new member, a beginner or those who some don’t like playing with, we should.

Without friends to share golf with, I do not know how much golf I would play. It doesn’t sound too inviting going out and playing on my own, except when I am practising for an event, or perhaps when playing so bad, I don’t want anyone else to see.

For 2000 years now people have been giving a testimony to the way that Jesus Christ has helped them in their life. This is because Jesus came not on his own accord but with God’s approval.
God is waiting for us to invite him into our lives. When we turn to him and believe in Jesus, God will come to us.

Prayer
Thank you God, that we don’t have to be alone in life, but that you are with us and we can share this with others.
Amen.