The post Pursuing God’s Heart Yourself – 3 Bible Books first appeared on Cor Deo.

Here are a couple of brief endorsements to go with the book launch video above…

To buy the book in the UK, go to is.gd/himbook and in the USA please go to 10ofthose.com/us/mead

The post New Book Launched! first appeared on Cor Deo.

The post Study Titus With Cor Deo Online first appeared on Cor Deo.

Jonathan talks about how easy it is to reduce ministry down to a litmus test for evangelical orthodoxy, but then tells his own story of growing into a fuller appreciation of the magnificence of Jesus.

To see the full interview, you just need to sign-up to the Cor Deo mailing list and we will make the full interview available to you!  Click here to sign-up – http://eepurl.com/drPqj1

The post The Pastor’s Job – Jonathan Thomas first appeared on Cor Deo.

Please do sign up to receive our newsletters as that will keep you informed about every online event that you can attend or access via the archive.

Here is a little introduction we have made to John’s Gospel, focusing on three unlikely characters who gave great testimonies to Jesus:

The post Cor Deo Online Launches! first appeared on Cor Deo.

Later this month we will send an update with a schedule of Cor Deo refresher sessions for July and August.  We hope you will be able to join us, either live, or by watching a recording of a session.  The online gathering recordings will only be available to people on the Cor Deo email update list.  Other shorter videos will be available to all on our YouTube channel.

Two action points to get ready:

1. If you don’t already receive the Cor Deo periodic email, please sign up here to receive your invitation to our online gatherings.

2. Please subscribe to the Cor Deo YouTube channel and hit the notification bell so that you can see all the public videos that are coming in the next weeks.

Thanks so much!

A couple of items already on the YouTube channel that you might like to check out are a playlist of Bible reading highlights through John’s Gospel called Journey Thru John (21 highlights, one per chapter, from Peter), as well as a video Peter made alongside FOCLonline called Seven Suggestions for Enjoying the Bible More Consistently.

The post Lockdown Legacy first appeared on Cor Deo.

For instance, think about how important the Incarnation is to your Christian faith.  Most will agree that Jesus was born in order to die, that Easter is the reason for the season and other pithy little seasonal quotables.  For some, that may be pretty much the full extent of its impact.  In order to live a perfect life and die in our place, the Son of God had to first become one of us – hence the Incarnation.

As we often say in Cor Deo, if that were the whole truth then it would be reason enough to praise God for all eternity.  But it is not the whole story.  The Son of God did not become one of us merely to perform the rescue work at Calvary.  There is much more to it than that.

Here are a few paths to meander down in your thoughts:

1. Revelation. When Jesus became one of us at Bethlehem (or technically, at conception), his was a mission not only of rescue, but also of revelation.  He came to show us the Father.  That does not mean simply that Jesus’ morality revealed God’s standards, nor even that Jesus’ character reflected the Father’s values, but that in the Incarnation we get to see what kind of God God is.  He is the kind of God who is humble, who is self-giving, who is sacrificially loving, who is inclined towards those he loves, who will do whatever it takes to pursue and woo hearts bent away from him in abject rebellion.  Our God is an Incarnating kind of God, a God who moves towards us when we don’t deserve it, and a God who dives into our mess to lift us out.  Yes, Jesus was on a rescue mission, but it was first of all a revelation mission.

2. Identification. When Jesus became one of us at Bethlehem, he did not have tunnel vision for Calvary.  Yes that was the intended destination, but he did not simply come and bide his time until that mission became possible.  He truly became one of us.  He loved, he cared, he laughed, he cried.  We are told in Hebrews 4 that he was tested in every way just as we are, yet without sin.  Remember that temptation only needs to rise to the level of our compromise, but since he never did, it must have risen to full force.  Yet without sin.  He is more than able to sympathise with our weaknesses because he did not choose to hide in a castle until his Calvary mission, he came right into the heart of human life and human pain.  He truly became one of us, identifying to the full, so that now we have a high priest who can fully sympathise and represent us forever before the heavenly throne.

3. Union. When Jesus became one of us at Bethlehem, he was not on a thirty-three year excursion into humanity.  He did not pop into our world only to shift into celestial reverse and head back out to the throne leaving his humanity behind.  Jesus is fully God, fully man, fully one, forever.  The Incarnation was not temporary.  This means that he can continue to reveal the Father to us in a unique way forever.  This means that he can continue to represent us to the Father in a unique way forever.  And this means that his rescue mission was not to bring us to a better place, end of story.  It was to bring us much deeper into the wonder of God’s love than that – he became one of us so that he could become one with us.  The great union of the Trinity has moved deliberately into humanity through the great union of divinity and humankind in the person of Jesus.  And that great union of the Incarnation was a necessary step not only to forgive us for our sin, but to make possible our union with Christ that will be our forever delight.

There is more to add, but let’s at least start there.  God the Son became human so that we can know God in a way we never could before, so that we can be represented before the Father better than we could have ever imagined possible, and so that we can be brought right into the very heart of the Trinitarian relationship through marriage.  For God the Son the Incarnation was not just for Christmas, nor even just for thirty-three years and a rescue mission, it was forever, and it was for us.

As we head towards another Christmas let’s be sure to ponder the wonder not just of that first Christmas, but the daily wonder of a God who moved toward us in such a stunning way.

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Peter Mead’s Pleased to Dwell: A Biblical Introduction to the Incarnation is a great read in the build-up to Christmas.  24 short and gripping chapters make for a great devotional read during the days of Advent.  Now is the time to order a copy so you have it in time for 1^st of December.  If you have read it before, please share any positive reviews to encourage others to read it this Advent!

The post Just an Annual Incarnation Celebration? first appeared on Cor Deo.

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Easter has come and gone for another year.  But Easter will never fade for God’s people.  Think about the Apostle Peter, for instance.  He was a rugged fisherman called by Jesus to become one of his core followers.  He watched and experienced all that we read about in the Gospels.  He was at the heart of most of the action.  When it came down to it, he wanted to be there for Jesus.  When it came down to it, he couldn’t make it faithfully through the night.

Then things went from bad to worse.  Jesus was killed.  The disciples were in hiding.  Peter had not been able to say sorry for his denial of the man he so dearly loved.  Saturday passed.  Sunday morning came.  Women came to report that the tomb was empty.  Peter raced John to the tomb and that day he met the risen Christ more than once.  Surely in their private conversation, Peter would have expressed his heart to Jesus over what had happened?  Two weeks later, on a Galilean beach, Peter was given the chance to express publicly his love for Jesus.  He had failed, but he was not finished.

Every encounter with the risen Jesus must have thrilled their hearts, but before too many weeks had passed by Jesus returned to His Father and they waited in Jerusalem.  On Pentecost, it was Peter that boldly stood to declare what was going on.  Peter pronounced persuasively that the pangs of death could not keep hold of Jesus and he had risen from the dead!

Easter was very real for those who saw the real Easter.  And for a few weeks, their enthusiasm is to be expected. But surely the delight must fade?  Every event eventually fades, doesn’t it?  Not for Peter.

Fast forward over three decades and Peter writes a letter to some dispersed and discouraged Christians in Turkey.  As soon as he launches he is gushing about the reality of Easter again!  Thirty-plus years and his passion remains undimmed!  Peter could not help but write about the covenant mercy of God that led Him to cause us “to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!”

Peter went on to write about that hope: an inheritance kept where it cannot die, be defiled, or disappear.  The heavenly hope was, for Peter, no “pie in the sky when we die” – it was a real and life defining certain expectation.  But the hope Peter spoke of was more than just the heavenly inheritance to come. It was also a present tense living hope.

How does the resurrection of Jesus shape our lives today?  What do we have as well as the hope that lies ahead?  Peter writes that we have perspective in the midst of challenging trials.  The suffering that besets God’s people now has purpose – it proves the miracle of our faith.  The suffering we endure now with faith results in greater glory to the God we look to in the midst of the trials.

As well as perspective, Peter writes that believers have an unexplainable love for Jesus.  Because he rose from the dead, Jesus is not simply the object of our nostalgia, like a spiritual Elvis or JFK.  Jesus is alive and that means that while we do not see him, we do love him.  As hard as it is to explain the hope that characterizes God’s people, it is even more difficult to explain the love that we have for Jesus Christ.  It is a first-rate spiritual miracle for a self-absorbed and incurved human heart to be turned inside-out so that it doesn’t hate Jesus (our natural condition), but loves him from the heart!

Finally, as well as perspective and love, the believer also has inexpressible joy.  When we see Jesus our joy will overflow, of course, but now, even though we do not see him, we rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.  True believers suffer, true believers endure, but true believers are people of joy.  It comes from the perspective we have, it comes from the love that is birthed within us, it comes because Jesus has conquered the greatest enemy – death itself.

Since death is defeated we live, present tense, with a living hope, with victory-shaped perspective, with unexplainable love, and with inexpressible joy.  We live, present tense, because Jesus lives, present tense. Since death is defeated, Easter must not and cannot fade for us.

The post Easter Does Not Fade first appeared on Cor Deo.

It is good to think through what is being communicated and I do think there are some concerning features of the gospel offered here.  For instance, let’s ponder the assumed motivation.  Are people really trying to leap the chasm to get to God?  Are people longing for closeness with the throne/crown authority figure presented in this illustration?  I don’t remember talking to someone who was desperate to get to God and disappointed that they could not.  Furthermore, the relationship offered seems ambiguous – what sort of connection will we have with this throne/crown if we do choose to walk his way?

I’d like to offer another version.  Why? Because it is good to rethink the gospel presentations we use. Even if we end up rejecting my modification, the exercise will surely be helpful in thinking through how we present the gospel.

Instead of having the human figure facing towards God and apparently motivated to move towards God throughout the illustration, let’s draw him or her facing away from God.  We were created for relationship with God but we have turned away.  Introduce the chasm (sin is our rebellion against both God and the love he has for us).  Now the illustration is ready to fill in.

1. On the God side, why don’t we represent God in a more Trinitarian way?  After all, the authority imagery is obviously incomplete, so let’s play with an alternative.  How about a house?  Verbally explain the context of the relationship of the Father and the Son by the Spirit – three persons united in love.  This relationship was the home, the family, the belonging that we were made for.  If it is explained well then the authority of God as creator and ruler can still be established fairly easily.  However this is not a God of conflicting realities. He is not “loving, but also just.”  Because of the perfect love within the Trinity, therefore God is just, etc.
2. In the chasm let’s draw a manger.  Why a manger?  Because God’s goal for us is not merely to change our location from the realm of sin to the realm of heaven.  God’s goal is union with us, which is why God the Son became one of us – the incarnation matters to the gospel!  He had to become one of us so that he could be one with us in marriage, which leads us to …
3. Behind the turned away person let’s draw the cross.  Why here? Because ultimately that is how far Jesus travelled for us.  It was the price that had to be paid, it was the revelation of what God is like that had to be made, and it was the proposal to win our hearts to entrust ourselves to God.  God’s proposal was not in nervousness on one-knee, but in agony with outstretched arms.

Why do I like this adaptation of the classic illustration?

1. Because it speaks of the three great unions of Christianity – the union of God with God (Trinity), the union of God and man in Christ (incarnation), and the union of Christ with humanity (union with Christ).
2. Because God is presented more relationally.
3. Because mankind is not presented as motivated to seek and reach God.
4. Because God, in Christ, came all the way to us.  (You could also explain that the Spirit points our hearts to the cross and invites us to be united to Christ.)
5. Because it presents a loving God doing everything for a rebellious and dead-to-God creature like me.
6. Because the gospel is about trusting in that love, rather than about making a personal commitment to travel to God.
7. Because in the gospel we are brought back home by a loving spouse – it is not our solo trek on a God-made bridge to a nice place, in a very real sense he carries his bride over the threshold!

My goal is not to convince you of this illustration.  Perhaps you have another classic gospel explanation you have used – why not think through its weaknesses and modify it to better offer the richness of the good news?  (The judge doesn’t simply pay our fine, he also approaches the stand and proposes…for example.)

The post Rebuilding the Bridge to Life first appeared on Cor Deo.

Perhaps we have heard counter arguments against our being the seekers.  After all, the great initiative surely rests with Christ in this regard since he came from heaven to earth, from the throne to the manger, from God’s side to ours.  As one of the great punchlines of Luke’s Gospel tells us, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10) The story of Christmas and the first Easter are conclusive, “while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Accepting that Jesus moved toward us before we could ever move in his direction, let’s ponder what we might call the encounter.  In John’s Gospel we get the stunning opening prologue that introduces us to the Word of God who is at the Father’s side, but who pitches his tent among us, comes to reveal the Father, full of glorious grace and truth, who comes to his own but they do not receive him, and yet is able to give the right to become the children of God to those who do.

After this prologue the introduction really continues for the first four chapters or so as we are introduced to great themes that will continue to develop under the intense pressure of the tension between Jesus and the authorities.  In these opening chapters we are introduced to themes of belief, of glory, of signs, of witness and more.  And in these opening chapters we get incident after incident of people encountering Jesus.

John the Baptist comes as our first witness to Jesus, declaring that he is not the Christ, but is just a voice preparing the way.  He declares that he is just baptizing with water.  But he points to the coming Christ who is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and the one who will baptize people with the Holy Spirit.  The focus is well and truly on Jesus when he finally walks into the action and starts to meet people.

After a couple of John’s disciples follow Jesus, one of them brings his brother to Jesus.  Jesus seems to already know him.  As soon as they meet, Jesus renames him.  Next verse we have another person being brought to Jesus by the witness of another, this time it is Phillip bringing Nathanael.  Nathanael is understandably skeptical about the idea that the Messiah could come from Nazareth, but as he approaches Jesus he also finds that Jesus already knows him.

What Jesus says to Nathanael seems to stir an extreme change in Nathanael.  Jesus makes one comment about the lack of deceit in Nathanael and he suddenly declares that Jesus is the Son of God and king of Israel.  That is a big shift from his skepticism about Nazareth.  Looking at the clues in the text at this point it feels like Nathanael may have been pondering the story of Jacob as he sat under the fig tree, maybe he was praying about it.  Jesus knew Nathanael.  He knew what he had been thinking or praying and proved it with his deceit comment.  He reinforced it with a reference to angels ascending and descending (but notice who is the connection between heaven and earth – it is Jesus!)

In the second chapter Jesus starts to reveal his glorious kindness, sensitivity and power at the wedding in Cana, before heading for the temple in Jerusalem.  He created a stir there and people started to trust in him at some level.  But interestingly we are told that Jesus did not entrust himself to them.  Why?  Because he knew what was in man.  So we are introduced to an example man – Nicodemus.

Jesus and the teacher of Israel have a conversation in chapter three that again begins with Jesus revealing that he does indeed know what is in man.  Nicodemus comes to Jesus with kind words and Jesus seems to rebuff him by stating that unless he is born from above, then Jesus can’t chit chat with him about the God subject.  Jesus knows that this great teacher is actually still spiritually dead on the inside.  Nicodemus is confronted not by a Rabbi come from God that he can approach, but by someone who sees to the core of who he is and what he lacks.

In chapter four we get another person encountering Jesus.  This time it is a troubled woman shunned by her own peers who meets Jesus at a well.  Not surprisingly it soon becomes clear that Jesus knows what is going on in her life too.  While she is still thinking this is just another man trying to make a connection with her, Jesus tells her about her five husbands and live-in lover.  She is undone.

Just as we cannot take credit for seeking Jesus, nor can we take credit for getting to know him first.  When we meet Jesus we are meeting one who knows all about us.  Maybe this is an aspect of evangelism that we have let slip over the years?  Perhaps we are proclaiming a gospel that focuses too much on the person, and too little on Jesus?  Perhaps as people encounter Christ they will be undone as they come to discover that he already knows them, and yet loves them still!

Maybe this is an aspect of our own relationship with Christ that has slipped from our awareness too?  How easily we can slip into presenting ourselves carefully to Christ as if he does not know all the gritty reality of our inner lives.  How easily we can pray wearing a mask.  How easily we forget that Jesus really knows us, and fully loves us.  We are totally vulnerable before him, whether we know it or not, he knows us.  We are fully known, and yet fully loved!

The post Fully Known, Fully Loved first appeared on Cor Deo.