What is non-negotiable?

15 Jul What is non-negotiable?

Happy Tuesday y’all!

We’ve been having some very essential conversations of late about faith & faithfulness…and how one translates into the other or how the absence of one indicates perhaps an absence of both. This came to mind as I was reading Jude yesterday…vs 20-21:  But you, dear friends, keep building each other up in your most holy faith, praying in the power of the Holy Spirit, & awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.”

Too often we treat faith like a commodity, like something we can keep in a sack or on the shelf. And sometimes we think of it in quantities, “great faith,” “little faith,” but again it’s a commodity. But Jude, & the New Testament authors think differently. Notice the infinitive continuous verbs in Jude’s instructions. Faith is that on-going experience of a restored relationship with God through Jesus that impacts every…every…every part of one’s life. AND…it’s always active in some way…The early apostles were certain that if it wasn’t an active visible faith lived in faithfulness to Christ among his people, it was no faith at all. As we noted two weeks ago… You can’t claim faith in Christ & at the same time live independently from his church. You can’t simultaneously be a follower of Jesus & consider gathering among his family optional or irrelevant. I am still drawn to Eugene Peterson’s observation, “There can be no maturity in the spiritual life, no obedience in following Jesus, no wholeness in the Christian life, apart from an immersion in, & embrace of, the Christian community. I am not myself by myself.” That final sentence is crucial, “I am not myself by myself.” I can never be all Christ died & rose for me to be apart from the community of believers gathered around word & sacrament.

For a completely different reason I was reading part of Martin Luther’s preface to his commentary on the book of Romans: “Faith, however, is a divine work in us which changes us and makes us to be born anew of God. It kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different people, in heart and spirit and mind and powers; and it brings with it the Holy Spirit. O it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever.” I am at my most Christlike when I am labouring alongside, worshipping with, engaged & connected to other followers of Jesus in his church.

I asked Sunday what you see in others that convinces you of their faith in Jesus. Many of us named the fruit of the Spirit…very visible traits & characteristics in the life of someone we know that points us, through them, to Jesus. I was asked later what I looked for as evidence of faith in Christ…I quickly named two things:

1. Worship…consistent, intentional participation in the community gathered for worship. I was surprised no one noted that Sunday morning…but again maybe we take it for granted OR we’ve seen too many who’ve carved a space out in a pew but lived like the devil the other 6 days of the week…?
2. Spiritual resilience or tenacity…that capacity to take the hard blows of life & remain focussed on the hope & promise of Christ in every moment. The Bible often calls it “perseverance.” I look for followers of Jesus who are in it for the long haul…disciples who have the scars & stories of a lifetime in the footsteps of Jesus…who just don’t quit until the last breath leaks out.

Thank you one and all for your consistent witness of your faith to me. I love learning from you & serving with you. God has blessed us richly…so now… “…dear friends, keep building each other up in your most holy faith, praying in the power of the Holy Spirit, & awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.”

Thinking ahead some…

1. Zoom Bible Study Catch-up
   Friday 18th July 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
   Join Zoom Meeting  —  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89674789066  —  Meeting ID: 896 7478 9066
2. Keep praying for me as I prepare for a special opportunity on 29^th A completely new thing for me & our witness to the wider community here. When it’s all in place I’ll tell you more.
3. Saturday, 23^rd August – Albury Men’s Convention – I’m looking forward to this…this really is the last chance to sign up as they’re closing registrations this week.

Finally…We all noted Sunday the death of our brother Robert Wiencke…a measure of grief & joy as his earthly battle has been turned to eternal victory in Christ. We’ll gather as a community to thank God for his grace in Robert’s life both here & in the eternal Kingdom on Thursday 24^th July @ 10:00 a.m. at St Paul’s Anglican Church on Fernleigh Road. The folks of the South Wagga Anglican Parish are being amazingly generous again in allowing us to use their facility. Right now, we’re waiting on a final word from the NSW Coroner’s Office, so that date is tentative…so please pray we get to lock it in before this weekend.

God bless you one & all over the days ahead…I don’t think any of us are on Easy Street…every day has troubles of its own…but we do have a powerful merciful God who never fails to work for our good…to release his shalom (perfect peace) in our lives. Trust him.

John