Book excerpt
Godly Gems – Reinhard Bonnke
Godly Gems is a collection of Reinhard Bonnke’s writings that he personally curated before he died, taken from the entire span of his ministry.
FLICKERING CANDLES
The candle flame of human genius sparkles briefly before being extinguished by the winds of time, but the lamp of God never flickers. Jeremiah said, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23) Without divine instruction, the structure of our lives collapses in chaos. This is exactly the state of those who have no knowledge of the Lord. Life for the unregenerate is a meaningless disorder. “It is God who makes my way perfect.” (Psalm 18:32) Walk in it.
THE PROPHETIC FORMULA
The prophetic formula in the Bible always was, “Thus says the Lord,” not, “I am telling you!” Prophets just passed on what they had heard from God, and that was that. It was not their business to defend it or to invite questions — contention was not something they got involved in. It was the Lord’s responsibility to confirm the righteousness of His own Word. He still does.
GOSPEL INSIGHTS
The world doesn’t mind religion at all. It likes religion — but it doesn’t like the gospel. If God can be relegated to the religious corner in the spiritual ghetto, all is well. God is not just religion! The gospel is not an open forum, but an open confrontation with world wickedness. The Bible is a challenge to the world system. The world system is not founded on truth, but on expedience. Its controlling factors are not related to righteousness but to what they call “business.” They don’t mind if you go through a few religious routines on a Sunday, but the gospel is a different thing completely. It calls for repentance and trust in Jesus. He is the only Savior, and the gospel is the power of God.
JUMPING TO A QUICK CONCLUSION
Two skydivers jump from a plane at 15,000 feet. Both are wearing parachutes. One of them folds his arms, ignores the ripcord, and says to himself, “I’m perfectly safe because of my parachute.” He is still saying these words as he hits the ground at nearly 100 miles per hour. The other skydiver knows he will be safe only if he does something. He pulls the ripcord and lands safely. We may know about the Christian faith. We may respect Jesus and agree that what He did on the cross is the answer to our deepest needs. But until we ask for His help and commit our lives to Him, it is like falling with a closed parachute. We need to take urgent action. We need to pull the ripcord while there is still time. The ripcord is this, “Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom 10:13) There is nothing else we can do. We cannot save ourselves — we can only throw ourselves on what Jesus achieved for us on the cross. He has done everything that we need. Let’s act on it, or else we jump to a quick conclusion.
YES OR NO — LIGHT OR NIGHT
When the servant Dumah asked the prophet Isaiah, “Watchman, what of the night?” the prophet replied, “The morning comes, and also the night.” (Is 21:11-12) This was not vague; it simply pointed out that the answer was depending on Edom’s response to God. If Edom turned to God, it would be day. If not, it would be night. The same principle applies today. For those whose hand is not in the hand of Jesus the landscape of tomorrow is full of fearful dangers. For those who have come to Him, their future is the land of a victorious Christ. “Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on, let me stand…”
BORDER TO ETERNITY
The border to eternity is never ahead of us. It runs parallel to life and can be crossed over any day by anybody — old or young.
WHEN JESUS CAME TO EARTH
Jesus came down to earth — He breached the barrier between human beings and God and touched the untouchables. His coming raised the share value of human beings to infinity. We are the most valuable creatures that God ever made because we cost God His Son, who willingly sacrificed Himself for us. God lavished “His great love” on us. (Eph 2:4) That “great love” is not an emotion but a person, His Son — God loved us through and with Him. What else could we ask for, what higher tribute can we pay ourselves than to take Jesus into our lives? “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man, that you care for him?” (Ps 8:4)
NO PYROTECHNICS
Christ’s great forerunner, John the Baptist, looked for Christ to come with fire and earth-shaking judgment. Jesus sent him a message, “The blind see and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them and blessed is he who is not offended because of me.” (Lk 7:22) That is God — mercies and kindness, not show-off pyrotechnics. Jesus is the joy of living.
THE PRICE JESUS PAID
People are eternally valuable because Christ sought them in pain, blood, and love. He wants them, even at the cost of the death-rack of the cross. The title deeds of His purchase are in His hands — His wounds. If we were sensitive to such extremities to see and save the lost, would we want anything except what He wants? “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and those who live should no longer live for themselves.” (2 Cor 5:14-15) By the way, to whom was the precious blood of Jesus paid, the price for our Redemption? To the devil? Oh no, no, no! It was paid into the court of God’s justice. We are reconciled with God. “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (Ex 12:13)
GOD CANNOT? HOW DO YOU KNOW?
A medical doctor told me once that God cannot heal a certain eye-disease. I replied, “Before I know what you can do, or cannot do, I have to know everything about you. Your education, your character, your family, your personality, etc... So please tell me how well you know God?” Can God spread a table in the wilderness? (Ps 78:19) Oh yes! He is the creator of all things, and us. Almighty, All-powerful, Omniscient, and much more. From Alpha to Omega, which is God’s alphabet, the name of Jesus includes all letters. Paul says, “I know in whom I have believed…” (2 Tim 1:12), and we, God’s children, know as well. We know that we know. Do You? Faith in Him gives us access to the throne of God and His healing bread. You have access!
IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN
Tempted by the Pharisees whether people were to pay taxes, Jesus asked for a coin and said, “Whose image and inscription is on it?” They replied “Caesar’s.” The Lord answered, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Lk 20:21-25) That was a hammer! The money belonged to Caesar because it bore Caesar’s image. But man should belong to God, because we are created in God’s image. God has a righteous claim on all of us. We were stamped with His image when He made us. Satan tries to deface God’s image in us with sin — he wants to replace it with his own. But God stepped in and our Creator became our Redeemer. Jesus bought us back by redeeming us by His blood. His precious blood was the currency, the means of payment. That is the reason for Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus says, “My son, give me your heart.” (Prov 23:26) Simple? Oh yes, but not simplistic! It is profound!
LOVE IS THE GENIUS OF GOD
Love is the genius of God. The fruit of the Spirit, Love, is a passion for service and holiness. What the unsaved regard as sacrifice is an outlet of joy to the Christian. Love has its own imperatives and must take up the cross! God’s own utter loss of His Son is difficult to justify, but God justifies His “unspeakable gift” to us by His own character. Love must give. Jesus came to fulfill the law and bound Himself forever to us. He took upon Himself the form of a man, of a servant — and was pierced (Ps 40:6). The Christian does not stagger along with two tablets of stone. He is a person shining with the love of God.
WE ARE ALL SPECIAL TO JESUS
Jesus said, “I do always those things that please the Father.” (Jn 8:29) What had He seen the Father do? He had seen Him stoop over the wretched tribes in Egypt, pick them up and make them great. Jesus did the same. He chose fishermen, not princes, to be His ambassadors. The gospels show Him, again and again, meeting the unwanted and giving them a place. His outreach to the discarded is a moving part of the gospel story. Jesus is with the “lost” and the “last.” The lost He finds, and to the last he says, “The last shall be first.” (Matt 20:16) In Christ, everyone is someone, even the guilty thief on the cross. Christ never treated people as “the masses.” To Him, we are all individuals, all special, and all loved.
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