My boys love the card game Top Trumps, we have various version of the game. If you don't know it the aim of the game is simply to win the other persons card by having a higher number in the chosen category, thus trumping their card. Some of the versions have been played so well the boys don't even have to look at the cards, but know them off by heart.
Hebrews is a bit like a pack of top trump cards. The pastor's point in writing Hebrews is to show how in Jesus we have the ultimate expression of God, and therefore everything is better in him. Jesus, God the Son, provides a better revelation of God than angels - Chapter 1-2. Jesus is better than Moses - Chapter 3. Jesus is a better High Priest - Chapter 4 and so on. At each stage the pastor warns against drifting away from Jesus, from what we have heard, from the salvation he provides and so on.
"But Jesus..." could in many ways be a good two word summary of the book. Hebrews 2v5-9 remind us of our need of Jesus. How the world made to be under the rule of man as the pinnacle of God's creation has been marred and marked by sin. How that is not how the world is any more, that is not what we see. Instead we see chaos and war and decay, sin ruining God's good creation. Then come those words in verse 9 "But we see him...". We see Jesus - God the Son stepping into the darkness, the chaos, the world infected by sin, giving a glimpse of his authority and his rule over it as he raises the dead, calms the storm, feeds the hungry. And ultimately as he breathes his last only to burst through death to new life again, so that by faith in him we may all share in his life, and his coming rule.
Why would you want to drift from him? Why would you forget? Why would you choose not to listen to this good news? How will we ensure that none of those things happen to us? Feed again on what is yours in Christ - we don't earn it - it is given to us by faith.
Showing posts with label daily bible reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily bible reading. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 December 2015
Monday, 14 December 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 9v18-27 'The Disciple's Decision'
Verse 20 Is one of Luke’s cliff-hanger moments. Do you feel the tension as Jesus turns to his closest friends, those who he has mentored, who he is planning to build the church around, who he hopes to entrust the good news all the world needs to hear to, and asks them; “Who do you say I am?” Can you feel the tension; what will they say, what answer will they give? Others have been saying he is a prophet, but now they are on the spot what about you?
And Peter the group spokesman gets it right “God’s Messiah”. What would you expect verse 21 to say as Jesus responds? ‘ Jesus smiled and said brilliant God has revealed this to you, now we can really start telling people, I know you are just back from mission boys but lets go again…’ But he doesn’t! What does it say? “Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.” Why?
The problem is this gap between their expectations and reality. Peter’s response carries with it Davidic and Royal connotations. Acts 1:6 gives us a glimpse of their expectations; “at this time are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Do you see the expectation: the Messiah, God’s promised rescuer is a nationalistic saviour, its all about Israel, it is all about immediate rule and rescue from physical enemies.
But(22) Jesus shows them reality, God’s unexpected plan for his anointed King. It involves suffering not victory, rejection not acceptance, and death not coronation. Do you see the gulf between their expectations of a glorious Messianic rescue and rule and the reality of God’s salvation plan? That is why they are not to tell anyone yet.
Have we got our view of Jesus right? He isn’t just a prophet, he is God’s enfleshed, anointed and willing to be rejected, suffer and die to bring about our rescue. He is the one seen throughout the pages of the Old Testament; the promised one who saves and delivers through suffering and death. He is the serpent crusher, the true Passover lamb, the perfect sacrifice for sin, God come to his temple, and the suffering servant who takes away the sin of the world.
And he willingly, knowing what was to come does what is necessary to restore us to God. His rejection, suffering and death show us the true horror of our sin and the nature of the judgement we were under. And it reveals to us the depth of God’s love and grace to us.
Jesus then teaches his disciples what it will mean for them to follow him. And he begins by giving them three commands (23). They are the marks of discipleship, they are not optional extras, notice the word he uses “whoever wants to be my disciple must…” This isn’t like the air conditioning or climate control on your car; this isn’t even like the radio or CD player, optional extras. This is the very thing that makes the disciple a disciple. The disciple must a. deny themselves, b. take up their cross and c. follow him.
We live in a world that is all about me; it is about having what I want when I want it. Where the cry is be good to yourself, be a better you. But Jesus calls the disciples to something radically different, the disciple is not to be enslaved to themselves, instead they deny themselves and take up their cross.
The image is that of a criminal convicted of a serious crime being made to carry their cross through the streets of the city to the site of their execution. They were forced to do it to show everyone that their rebellion was at an end and they now submitted to the state. Jesus takes this powerful and distasteful image and uses it as a picture of discipleship. The disciple carries their cross showing they are no longer rebelling against God but live submitted to him. It is his will not theirs that matters. When do they do it? Daily. It’s the question the disciple asks and answers every morning – Today will I live calling the shots or obeying God?
And the third command is to follow the pattern that Jesus sets, the pattern of (22)rejection, suffering, and death. How can you live like that? Only when you see Jesus is God’s promised deliverer and the cost of that rescue. In the remaining verses Jesus sets up some contrasts and they pose two questions of the would be disciple. (24-25)What do we value? Is it ease and life now or salvation and life in eternity? (26)What are we scared of? Is it the rejection of my friends, family, and colleagues or is it rejection by God?
How you answer those questions determines whether you will be his disciple – What do I value? What am I scared of?
Maybe that is you, you’ve heard the gospel, and you know it is true but you will not take that step of standing for it. You don’t want the rejection that might come, you don’t want suffering and you certainly don’t want to die. It is not what you say you are you are, it is what you are you are. You are not a disciple if you say you follow Jesus, you are a disciple if you follow Jesus and these verses show that it is uncomfortable and uncompromising. You need to decide; who is Jesus and will I follow him?
Perhaps you have trusted Jesus but you are aware this week there have been times when you haven’t picked up your cross, other times when you put it down because carrying it would be too hard. We are not saved by performance but by grace, forgiveness is found at the cross. But what will this look like? (24)Jesus says following him brings death, suffering, rejection and it does, every one of the 12 bar one dies a premature death, and he probably dies on a penal colony for his faith. But we don’t live in a physical persecution culture, so what does it mean today?
The world hasn’t changed, discipleship means to live life with God’s goals and under his rules following the pattern set by Jesus Christ, not conforming to the world. I wonder what you think the biggest danger you face is? Is it terrorism, a virus, antibiotic resistance, is it the rise of far right political parties, is it recession. As I have asked myself that question this week the answer is none of those, the answer is materialism.
Materialism is the pursuit of power, independence, comfort and security, and it is the biggest threat to our discipleship. And the world calls us to pursue it. How do you know if it’s a threat? Ask yourself - what are your dreams for your children? Is it for them to be a doctor, to have a nice house, to have a nice family, to be comfortable so that you don’t have to worry about them? Or is it for them to serve God no matter what? Or maybe it is to ask ourselves where we see ourselves in 5 years time; is our answer couched in terms of bigger house, better job, nicer car, or is it to have seen friends and family come to Christ?
To follow Jesus is to renounce the pursuit of power, independence, comfort and security, and it is to prioritise and take risks for and with the gospel. It will affect our careers – it may mean saying no to a promotion because it will stop us playing an active role in the church. It may mean not moving house because that would take us away from a community God wants us to reach. It will affect the way we use our money – we are given it by God to use for his glory not our ease.
How can we live like this? (22)Jesus knows that at the end is resurrection and with his resurrection will come his reign. Heb 12:2 “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus was future focused, he looked for the day when he would have accomplished his mission and would be welcomed home by God to reign and rule.
How do we live like this now? How do we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him? By following him who for the joy set before him endured the cross. (26-27)Jesus ends by fixing the disciples eyes on his coming. Are your eyes fixed on his coming? Are your expectations right; suffering, rejection and death now but glory and welcome then?
And Peter the group spokesman gets it right “God’s Messiah”. What would you expect verse 21 to say as Jesus responds? ‘ Jesus smiled and said brilliant God has revealed this to you, now we can really start telling people, I know you are just back from mission boys but lets go again…’ But he doesn’t! What does it say? “Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.” Why?
The problem is this gap between their expectations and reality. Peter’s response carries with it Davidic and Royal connotations. Acts 1:6 gives us a glimpse of their expectations; “at this time are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Do you see the expectation: the Messiah, God’s promised rescuer is a nationalistic saviour, its all about Israel, it is all about immediate rule and rescue from physical enemies.
But(22) Jesus shows them reality, God’s unexpected plan for his anointed King. It involves suffering not victory, rejection not acceptance, and death not coronation. Do you see the gulf between their expectations of a glorious Messianic rescue and rule and the reality of God’s salvation plan? That is why they are not to tell anyone yet.
Have we got our view of Jesus right? He isn’t just a prophet, he is God’s enfleshed, anointed and willing to be rejected, suffer and die to bring about our rescue. He is the one seen throughout the pages of the Old Testament; the promised one who saves and delivers through suffering and death. He is the serpent crusher, the true Passover lamb, the perfect sacrifice for sin, God come to his temple, and the suffering servant who takes away the sin of the world.
And he willingly, knowing what was to come does what is necessary to restore us to God. His rejection, suffering and death show us the true horror of our sin and the nature of the judgement we were under. And it reveals to us the depth of God’s love and grace to us.
Jesus then teaches his disciples what it will mean for them to follow him. And he begins by giving them three commands (23). They are the marks of discipleship, they are not optional extras, notice the word he uses “whoever wants to be my disciple must…” This isn’t like the air conditioning or climate control on your car; this isn’t even like the radio or CD player, optional extras. This is the very thing that makes the disciple a disciple. The disciple must a. deny themselves, b. take up their cross and c. follow him.
We live in a world that is all about me; it is about having what I want when I want it. Where the cry is be good to yourself, be a better you. But Jesus calls the disciples to something radically different, the disciple is not to be enslaved to themselves, instead they deny themselves and take up their cross.
The image is that of a criminal convicted of a serious crime being made to carry their cross through the streets of the city to the site of their execution. They were forced to do it to show everyone that their rebellion was at an end and they now submitted to the state. Jesus takes this powerful and distasteful image and uses it as a picture of discipleship. The disciple carries their cross showing they are no longer rebelling against God but live submitted to him. It is his will not theirs that matters. When do they do it? Daily. It’s the question the disciple asks and answers every morning – Today will I live calling the shots or obeying God?
And the third command is to follow the pattern that Jesus sets, the pattern of (22)rejection, suffering, and death. How can you live like that? Only when you see Jesus is God’s promised deliverer and the cost of that rescue. In the remaining verses Jesus sets up some contrasts and they pose two questions of the would be disciple. (24-25)What do we value? Is it ease and life now or salvation and life in eternity? (26)What are we scared of? Is it the rejection of my friends, family, and colleagues or is it rejection by God?
How you answer those questions determines whether you will be his disciple – What do I value? What am I scared of?
Maybe that is you, you’ve heard the gospel, and you know it is true but you will not take that step of standing for it. You don’t want the rejection that might come, you don’t want suffering and you certainly don’t want to die. It is not what you say you are you are, it is what you are you are. You are not a disciple if you say you follow Jesus, you are a disciple if you follow Jesus and these verses show that it is uncomfortable and uncompromising. You need to decide; who is Jesus and will I follow him?
Perhaps you have trusted Jesus but you are aware this week there have been times when you haven’t picked up your cross, other times when you put it down because carrying it would be too hard. We are not saved by performance but by grace, forgiveness is found at the cross. But what will this look like? (24)Jesus says following him brings death, suffering, rejection and it does, every one of the 12 bar one dies a premature death, and he probably dies on a penal colony for his faith. But we don’t live in a physical persecution culture, so what does it mean today?
The world hasn’t changed, discipleship means to live life with God’s goals and under his rules following the pattern set by Jesus Christ, not conforming to the world. I wonder what you think the biggest danger you face is? Is it terrorism, a virus, antibiotic resistance, is it the rise of far right political parties, is it recession. As I have asked myself that question this week the answer is none of those, the answer is materialism.
Materialism is the pursuit of power, independence, comfort and security, and it is the biggest threat to our discipleship. And the world calls us to pursue it. How do you know if it’s a threat? Ask yourself - what are your dreams for your children? Is it for them to be a doctor, to have a nice house, to have a nice family, to be comfortable so that you don’t have to worry about them? Or is it for them to serve God no matter what? Or maybe it is to ask ourselves where we see ourselves in 5 years time; is our answer couched in terms of bigger house, better job, nicer car, or is it to have seen friends and family come to Christ?
To follow Jesus is to renounce the pursuit of power, independence, comfort and security, and it is to prioritise and take risks for and with the gospel. It will affect our careers – it may mean saying no to a promotion because it will stop us playing an active role in the church. It may mean not moving house because that would take us away from a community God wants us to reach. It will affect the way we use our money – we are given it by God to use for his glory not our ease.
How can we live like this? (22)Jesus knows that at the end is resurrection and with his resurrection will come his reign. Heb 12:2 “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus was future focused, he looked for the day when he would have accomplished his mission and would be welcomed home by God to reign and rule.
How do we live like this now? How do we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him? By following him who for the joy set before him endured the cross. (26-27)Jesus ends by fixing the disciples eyes on his coming. Are your eyes fixed on his coming? Are your expectations right; suffering, rejection and death now but glory and welcome then?
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 8v26-39 'Freedom and Fear'
One of the things that Luke shows us in this section of his gospel is different peoples reactions to Jesus and his authority seen in the miracles he performs. Here there are two contrasting reactions to Jesus, and the miracle of restoring the demon possessed man.
What is the situation that confronts Jesus as he steps out of the boat? He is in the region of the Gerasenes – a Gentile area – and he faces a demon possessed man. Some try to downplay this mans condition, arguing it was just that they didn’t understand mental illness not really demon possession. Luke is a medical doctor, he is actually very precise in his descriptions of illnesses. And in other parts of the world today these types of events still take place. The Bible is clear that the world is not all there is, that there is a spiritual element to the universe. That actually there is a battle raging between God and his adversary.
In the Bible demon possession seems to occur most prominently in the gospels, there is relatively little in the Old Testament and it doesn’t particularly feature in Acts and the Epistles. It’s as if as Jesus – God’s Son – walks the earth telling people how to be saved Satan sends out his crack troops to confront him. The Bible is clear that just as God is a reality so is evil and that the world is under the influence of sin and Satan – it may be seen just as clearly in atrocities, drug use and selfishness rather than demon possession. In the west we don’t see such open conflict and I think that is a deliberate ploy because what you don’t believe in you don’t fight against.
What Luke stresses here, the big lesson, is Jesus total victory. This battle is not like one of the fights in a Rocky film; where he is always against the ropes, he is always losing until something inspires him and he rallies to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This is a battle but the outcome is beyond doubt. How is the man’s condition described? He is demon possessed, has been for a long time, no clothes, lives in tombs not house, is unchainable, isolated, multiple possession. It is an utterly hopeless situation, this man is totally at the mercy of these evil spirits, there is nothing anyone can do about it though they have tried. And yet as Jesus steps out of the boat and confronts the evil spirits they are terrified. (28) The man falls at Jesus feet not to worship but to beg, (31, 32) again he begs Jesus. It is an astonishing reaction, this untameable evil is terrified and the question is why?
It is because the evil spirits recognise Jesus “Jesus, Son of the Most High”, they know he is God’s Son with God’s authority just as surely as the wind and waves recognised it previously. (28, 31) They know he has power to cast them into the Abyss – the place reserved for them. So great is Jesus authority that they even have to ask him for permission to enter a herd of pigs.
Who is Jesus? Was the disciples question last week as they saw the wind and the waves obey his voice, creation listen to the creator, here is another piece of the puzzle as evil recognises Jesus authority. Jesus frees and transforms the man, sets the captive free as Isaiah hundreds of years before promised he would do, and as he does so he shows that he has the power to break evils hold. He gives yet another glimpse of what it would mean to be in God’s kingdom where he ruled and creation and evil were under his authority and posed no threat. It’s another piece in the puzzle, no mere man could do this – who do I say Jesus, the one who defeats evil, is?
This passage calls on us to recognise that evil is real, that the spiritual battle is a reality. In our society the devil is portrayed as a figure of fun, he is dismissed as insignificant, yet curiously at the same time there is a growing fascination with the occult and demonology. Tarot cards, mediums and ouija boards are all regarded as harmless and are growing in popularity. Jesus did treat evil trivially, he reminds us that we are in a battle, we will not fight in what we don’t believe is real. But it is equally important we don'r knee jerk react on the other extreme and be terrified of it. Jesus conquers evil, not just here as a one off but supremely at the cross and one day he will return and establish his kingdom with no evil.
I wonder if you’ve ever had someone say to you ‘well I’d believe in God if he’d just do a miracle.’ This account proves that isn’t always the case, the people of the town see the evidence and yet they are overcome by fear and just want Jesus gone. They will not listen to him or believe in him even though he has performed such a miracle, they just want him gone and Jesus respects their wishes. But the man reacts differently. He has been transformed by his encounter with Jesus. How is he different? He is sat at Jesus feet, in his right mind, dressed.
How does he react to his deliverance? He takes the place of the disciple, he is listening to Jesus words, just like the good soil in the parable of the sower. The captive is freed by the king and now gives his life to serve the one who freed him (38-39). He wants to go with Jesus, but he is told not to, why? There are a number of reasons; he was a Gentile so the Jews to whom Jesus goes back to would not accept his word and testimony. But I think more importantly Jesus has a mission for him where he is (39) “Return home and tell how much God has done for you”. And how does the man respond? He goes away and tells – that word doesn’t just mean a bland recitation of the facts, it is an impassioned proclamation. And notice the focus is on what God in Jesus has done for him.
Having been freed from slavery this man only wants to do one thing and that is to follow his saviour, to tell others of the salvation he has experienced. How is our reaction to Jesus? This man is called to be a witness where he is. Every Christian has the same task, to tell people what Jesus has done for them in the place where he has put them. Your missionary field is where God has put you right now; your work place, your family, your friendships, your neighbourhood. No it is not easy; for Theophilus and the early church it was not easy in a hostile society. For this man he is to witness to the very people who have been terrified of and rejected Jesus. Its being hard is no excuse.
It is not preaching at them, it is telling people what Jesus has done for you. How often does Jesus crop up in our conversations? Is what he has done and is doing part of my every day conversation? Do you see your mission field this morning? Look at your neighbours, how are you going to love them and care for them? Do you need to actually get to know them and build some relationships with them? Why not have them all in before Christmas for a mince pie.
We are not called to make people our projects, but we are called to love people, to engage in relationship with them, to care for them, to share our lives with them as we do that it is only natural that like this man we will share with them what Jesus has done. We need to think about committing to the neighbourhood we live in, to our work places and our work colleagues.
Have I got my view of the world right? Do I recognise that evil is a reality though it may be masked and hidden? Do I see what the Bible is showing me about Jesus – he is more than just a man and he is worth believing in because he defeats sin and evil and every opposition to God. Will I believe in him? Will I respond by giving my life to him and living with his purposes as my purposes?
What is the situation that confronts Jesus as he steps out of the boat? He is in the region of the Gerasenes – a Gentile area – and he faces a demon possessed man. Some try to downplay this mans condition, arguing it was just that they didn’t understand mental illness not really demon possession. Luke is a medical doctor, he is actually very precise in his descriptions of illnesses. And in other parts of the world today these types of events still take place. The Bible is clear that the world is not all there is, that there is a spiritual element to the universe. That actually there is a battle raging between God and his adversary.
In the Bible demon possession seems to occur most prominently in the gospels, there is relatively little in the Old Testament and it doesn’t particularly feature in Acts and the Epistles. It’s as if as Jesus – God’s Son – walks the earth telling people how to be saved Satan sends out his crack troops to confront him. The Bible is clear that just as God is a reality so is evil and that the world is under the influence of sin and Satan – it may be seen just as clearly in atrocities, drug use and selfishness rather than demon possession. In the west we don’t see such open conflict and I think that is a deliberate ploy because what you don’t believe in you don’t fight against.
What Luke stresses here, the big lesson, is Jesus total victory. This battle is not like one of the fights in a Rocky film; where he is always against the ropes, he is always losing until something inspires him and he rallies to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This is a battle but the outcome is beyond doubt. How is the man’s condition described? He is demon possessed, has been for a long time, no clothes, lives in tombs not house, is unchainable, isolated, multiple possession. It is an utterly hopeless situation, this man is totally at the mercy of these evil spirits, there is nothing anyone can do about it though they have tried. And yet as Jesus steps out of the boat and confronts the evil spirits they are terrified. (28) The man falls at Jesus feet not to worship but to beg, (31, 32) again he begs Jesus. It is an astonishing reaction, this untameable evil is terrified and the question is why?
It is because the evil spirits recognise Jesus “Jesus, Son of the Most High”, they know he is God’s Son with God’s authority just as surely as the wind and waves recognised it previously. (28, 31) They know he has power to cast them into the Abyss – the place reserved for them. So great is Jesus authority that they even have to ask him for permission to enter a herd of pigs.
Who is Jesus? Was the disciples question last week as they saw the wind and the waves obey his voice, creation listen to the creator, here is another piece of the puzzle as evil recognises Jesus authority. Jesus frees and transforms the man, sets the captive free as Isaiah hundreds of years before promised he would do, and as he does so he shows that he has the power to break evils hold. He gives yet another glimpse of what it would mean to be in God’s kingdom where he ruled and creation and evil were under his authority and posed no threat. It’s another piece in the puzzle, no mere man could do this – who do I say Jesus, the one who defeats evil, is?
This passage calls on us to recognise that evil is real, that the spiritual battle is a reality. In our society the devil is portrayed as a figure of fun, he is dismissed as insignificant, yet curiously at the same time there is a growing fascination with the occult and demonology. Tarot cards, mediums and ouija boards are all regarded as harmless and are growing in popularity. Jesus did treat evil trivially, he reminds us that we are in a battle, we will not fight in what we don’t believe is real. But it is equally important we don'r knee jerk react on the other extreme and be terrified of it. Jesus conquers evil, not just here as a one off but supremely at the cross and one day he will return and establish his kingdom with no evil.
I wonder if you’ve ever had someone say to you ‘well I’d believe in God if he’d just do a miracle.’ This account proves that isn’t always the case, the people of the town see the evidence and yet they are overcome by fear and just want Jesus gone. They will not listen to him or believe in him even though he has performed such a miracle, they just want him gone and Jesus respects their wishes. But the man reacts differently. He has been transformed by his encounter with Jesus. How is he different? He is sat at Jesus feet, in his right mind, dressed.
How does he react to his deliverance? He takes the place of the disciple, he is listening to Jesus words, just like the good soil in the parable of the sower. The captive is freed by the king and now gives his life to serve the one who freed him (38-39). He wants to go with Jesus, but he is told not to, why? There are a number of reasons; he was a Gentile so the Jews to whom Jesus goes back to would not accept his word and testimony. But I think more importantly Jesus has a mission for him where he is (39) “Return home and tell how much God has done for you”. And how does the man respond? He goes away and tells – that word doesn’t just mean a bland recitation of the facts, it is an impassioned proclamation. And notice the focus is on what God in Jesus has done for him.
Having been freed from slavery this man only wants to do one thing and that is to follow his saviour, to tell others of the salvation he has experienced. How is our reaction to Jesus? This man is called to be a witness where he is. Every Christian has the same task, to tell people what Jesus has done for them in the place where he has put them. Your missionary field is where God has put you right now; your work place, your family, your friendships, your neighbourhood. No it is not easy; for Theophilus and the early church it was not easy in a hostile society. For this man he is to witness to the very people who have been terrified of and rejected Jesus. Its being hard is no excuse.
It is not preaching at them, it is telling people what Jesus has done for you. How often does Jesus crop up in our conversations? Is what he has done and is doing part of my every day conversation? Do you see your mission field this morning? Look at your neighbours, how are you going to love them and care for them? Do you need to actually get to know them and build some relationships with them? Why not have them all in before Christmas for a mince pie.
We are not called to make people our projects, but we are called to love people, to engage in relationship with them, to care for them, to share our lives with them as we do that it is only natural that like this man we will share with them what Jesus has done. We need to think about committing to the neighbourhood we live in, to our work places and our work colleagues.
Have I got my view of the world right? Do I recognise that evil is a reality though it may be masked and hidden? Do I see what the Bible is showing me about Jesus – he is more than just a man and he is worth believing in because he defeats sin and evil and every opposition to God. Will I believe in him? Will I respond by giving my life to him and living with his purposes as my purposes?
Monday, 7 December 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 8v22-25 'Who is this?'
Faith has been one of the key issues in this section of Luke’s gospel. The centurion has faith, John is encouraged to keep the faith and the sinful woman is reassured that she is saved by faith in Jesus, and we have seen that the characteristic of the faithful is to listen, keep hold of and obey God’s word. And faith continues to be central as Luke encourages Theophilus and the early church he is writing to not to lose their faith in the midst of threats. In order to face crises and threats they and we need two things in place if our faith is to stand.
Luke emphasises the danger the storm poses, this isn’t a little swell that makes some of them turn green, this is a “great danger” the boat is “being swamped”. I wonder what you imagine the boat to be like. It’s not a little rowing boat this is a significant boat, big enough to hold the disciples - at least 12+Jesus, if not the women of (1-3) and others. And these were experiences sailors, they would have been on rough seas, in fact this was where they had fished, they knew the danger they were in, that they were in real danger.
As they go to Jesus (24) it is in panic, it is in fear for their lives, you can hear it in their call to Jesus “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” There is no doubt about the natural outcome of their situation – bad storm, boat taking on water, boat sinks, lives lost. The danger they face is real, nature out of control, their lives are threatened and there is nothing that they can do about it.
Jesus actions are amazing, though we are over familiar with them, if this was a Hollywood film what would happen next as Jesus wakes? He’d stand up take the rudder and steer them safely to shore with muscles rippling and chin jutting out as man overcame the elements just by his bravery, strength and skill. But that’s not what happened. Psalm 89:8-9 tell us the LORD God Almighty rules the waves. Psalm 107:23-32 Tells us the Lord - God can save from and still the storm. As Jesus gets up (24) it is not to take the rudder, it is as God made man to take control of creation.
Recognise that Jesus is God
In the midst of all the examples of faith we see an instance of faith under fire. Stories like this are one of the features that prove the Bibles credibility – here cowering in the boat are the disciples, the future leaders of the church. It speaks volumes for Luke’s integrity and also for the change that the resurrection of Jesus brings about in the disciples. Luke sets the scene for us in (22-23), Jesus tells the disciples to cross, they start and he settles down for a nap. But then nature kicks in and threatens, the winds howl and waves batter at the men in their boat.Luke emphasises the danger the storm poses, this isn’t a little swell that makes some of them turn green, this is a “great danger” the boat is “being swamped”. I wonder what you imagine the boat to be like. It’s not a little rowing boat this is a significant boat, big enough to hold the disciples - at least 12+Jesus, if not the women of (1-3) and others. And these were experiences sailors, they would have been on rough seas, in fact this was where they had fished, they knew the danger they were in, that they were in real danger.
As they go to Jesus (24) it is in panic, it is in fear for their lives, you can hear it in their call to Jesus “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” There is no doubt about the natural outcome of their situation – bad storm, boat taking on water, boat sinks, lives lost. The danger they face is real, nature out of control, their lives are threatened and there is nothing that they can do about it.
Jesus actions are amazing, though we are over familiar with them, if this was a Hollywood film what would happen next as Jesus wakes? He’d stand up take the rudder and steer them safely to shore with muscles rippling and chin jutting out as man overcame the elements just by his bravery, strength and skill. But that’s not what happened. Psalm 89:8-9 tell us the LORD God Almighty rules the waves. Psalm 107:23-32 Tells us the Lord - God can save from and still the storm. As Jesus gets up (24) it is not to take the rudder, it is as God made man to take control of creation.
Jesus stands and rebukes creation and what happens? Creation recognises the creator’s voice and “the storm subsided, and all was calm…” When Jesus speaks creation acts as it would at God’s words, it’s no wonder the disciples are amazed and fearful and ask “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Do you hear the astonishment in their words at the conclusion this leads them to – he has God’s authority, he is God made man.
We need to recognise that Jesus is God made man; the one who stills creation, who stills the threat of sickness, who defeats the powers of evil and who conquers even death. Jesus is God made man and has God’s authority. Why do we need to see it? Because we will only trust him in a crisis if we have fixed that in our heads and believed it in our hearts – he is able.
Having calmed the wind and the waves Jesus turns to focus on his disciples; “Where is your faith?” he asks. Faith is not an abstract idea, it is not belief in theory or a set of suppositions or statements, faith is an application of your beliefs to your living. Look at (7:1-10) how did the Centurions faith show itself? He believes Jesus can heal from a distance and sends people to say so. Look at the sinful woman, how does her faith show itself? It’s seen in her loving actions. How should the disciple’s faith have shown itself?
Jesus is not asking the disciples to take a blind leap of faith. But to believe on the evidence they have seen, belief is only faith if it is active. Faith that counts is one that kicks in and recognises there is no safer person to trust than one who can deliver you. Jesus is challenging the disciples to trust in him, to act upon the evidence they have seen and heard and to make it the basis of their living.
We need to recognise that Jesus is God made man; the one who stills creation, who stills the threat of sickness, who defeats the powers of evil and who conquers even death. Jesus is God made man and has God’s authority. Why do we need to see it? Because we will only trust him in a crisis if we have fixed that in our heads and believed it in our hearts – he is able.
Live now by faith in the future
Having calmed the wind and the waves Jesus turns to focus on his disciples; “Where is your faith?” he asks. Faith is not an abstract idea, it is not belief in theory or a set of suppositions or statements, faith is an application of your beliefs to your living. Look at (7:1-10) how did the Centurions faith show itself? He believes Jesus can heal from a distance and sends people to say so. Look at the sinful woman, how does her faith show itself? It’s seen in her loving actions. How should the disciple’s faith have shown itself?
Jesus is not asking the disciples to take a blind leap of faith. But to believe on the evidence they have seen, belief is only faith if it is active. Faith that counts is one that kicks in and recognises there is no safer person to trust than one who can deliver you. Jesus is challenging the disciples to trust in him, to act upon the evidence they have seen and heard and to make it the basis of their living.
It’s easy to be critical of the disciples but we have the readers’ edge we know everything that Jesus did, that he goes on to raise the dead, to die for them himself and to rise again defeating death. But the disciples are on a journey of faith and Jesus is teaching them here that they can trust in him because he can deliver them.
Faith is active it is belief applied and functions in a time of crisis. It looks at Jesus - God made man, our deliverer - and weighs the threat in the light of his majesty. The thought process is something like this – if Jesus delivers from death, sin and God’s judgement, if he is able to save from every threat, if he will one day bring everything under his authority as we glimpse here then I will trust him in the light of what I now face.
We need to realise, however, that it does not mean he will deliver me from hard times, crises and threats but that he will deliver me through them. Take this incident Jesus doesn’t leap up the moment the first rain drop splashes onto the deck and still the coming storm before it hits but he does deliver them through the storm, and it is in the storm that he reveals to them more of who he is and that he can be trusted, and challenges them to have faith.
We live in a world of storms and creation out of control, where evil is active, where sickness and death are part of life, where work is hard, where relationship as fraught. We are not immune to them, Jesus does not promise blanket immunity to his disciples, but he has authority over them and one day will come back and reality will be secure and good because we will live with God among his people and new creation. But until then we will face threats, sickness, evil, death because we live in a world that is damaged and broken by rejecting God from his God place. It is against this background that we are called to faith, to trust in Jesus in the face of each of these. Jesus has God’s authority, he delivers and his disciples learn about who he is and that he is worth putting their faith in.
What Theophilus and the early church need to know as they face struggles and threats that could overwhelm them is that Jesus is worth putting your faith in, worth believing in beyond a shadow of a doubt because he is God made man with God’s authority, he rules, he delivers his people, and one day he will come and establish God’s kingdom for ever. Do we know those two truths? How are they affecting our living? When we face the consequences of living in a broken world how do we react?
The encouragement this morning is to look again and fix our faith on Jesus – God’s authoritative deliverer, to remember our future that Jesus gives us a glimpse of creation renewed and threats stilled. And to live trusting in him.
Faith is active it is belief applied and functions in a time of crisis. It looks at Jesus - God made man, our deliverer - and weighs the threat in the light of his majesty. The thought process is something like this – if Jesus delivers from death, sin and God’s judgement, if he is able to save from every threat, if he will one day bring everything under his authority as we glimpse here then I will trust him in the light of what I now face.
We need to realise, however, that it does not mean he will deliver me from hard times, crises and threats but that he will deliver me through them. Take this incident Jesus doesn’t leap up the moment the first rain drop splashes onto the deck and still the coming storm before it hits but he does deliver them through the storm, and it is in the storm that he reveals to them more of who he is and that he can be trusted, and challenges them to have faith.
We live in a world of storms and creation out of control, where evil is active, where sickness and death are part of life, where work is hard, where relationship as fraught. We are not immune to them, Jesus does not promise blanket immunity to his disciples, but he has authority over them and one day will come back and reality will be secure and good because we will live with God among his people and new creation. But until then we will face threats, sickness, evil, death because we live in a world that is damaged and broken by rejecting God from his God place. It is against this background that we are called to faith, to trust in Jesus in the face of each of these. Jesus has God’s authority, he delivers and his disciples learn about who he is and that he is worth putting their faith in.
What Theophilus and the early church need to know as they face struggles and threats that could overwhelm them is that Jesus is worth putting your faith in, worth believing in beyond a shadow of a doubt because he is God made man with God’s authority, he rules, he delivers his people, and one day he will come and establish God’s kingdom for ever. Do we know those two truths? How are they affecting our living? When we face the consequences of living in a broken world how do we react?
The encouragement this morning is to look again and fix our faith on Jesus – God’s authoritative deliverer, to remember our future that Jesus gives us a glimpse of creation renewed and threats stilled. And to live trusting in him.
Sunday, 6 December 2015
Daily Reading: Titus 2v11-14 'Entering the school of grace'
"11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
Paul tells Titus that what produces gospel change is grace. Believers aren't just saved by grace they enrol in the school of grace. It is not that we start off with grace but then move on from grace in order to change. Grace is the ABC of faith, you never leave it, it is at work in every change and lesson we learn. Grace becomes our teacher, our trainer. It teaches us both positively and negatively, it teaches us to say 'No' to some things and 'Yes' to others, it does so as it changes and transforms our world view and our loves.
Paul tells Titus that what produces gospel change is grace. Believers aren't just saved by grace they enrol in the school of grace. It is not that we start off with grace but then move on from grace in order to change. Grace is the ABC of faith, you never leave it, it is at work in every change and lesson we learn. Grace becomes our teacher, our trainer. It teaches us both positively and negatively, it teaches us to say 'No' to some things and 'Yes' to others, it does so as it changes and transforms our world view and our loves.
Grace changes our worldview in that it transforms the way we think of God. We all instinctively think of God like Adam and Eve did once the snake had hissed his accusations against God in Genesis 3. Is God loving? Is God just restrictive? Does he really know what is best for me? You may have heard that hiss as you read verse 12 - how did you read it? Did it seem restrictive and joyless to you? If so that is Satan hissing in your ear.
But grace transforms the way we think about God. Instead of reading verse 12 as restrictive we read it as joy giving and life bringing. Godliness becomes something positive to pursue because we know what God is like. God is a God of grace, God the Father sent God the Son who, in love, leaves the splendour and worship he is due to come to earth, and then to the cross where by the Spirit he offers himself and experiences what we deserve so that we are reconciled to God and credited with his recorded and rewarded with what he deserves. That is grace, it teaches us that God is for us, God is not a mean killjoy, God is not a harsh task master, he is a loving Father who has given the most precious thing to him to find lost humanity and bring us back into relationship with him. And it makes godliness something we want to purse and ungodliness something we want to cut out.
Grace also makes us love Jesus, having seen what he did for us at Calvary how can we not? It makes us long to know him and look forward to his return. And that new affection drives out the old. Grace makes us love and drives out our old loves, making us more like Jesus. Grace changes us from the inside out.
As we meditate on God's grace which appeared in Jesus our hearts are warmed, our thoughts transformed and our hope revolutionised.
Saturday, 5 December 2015
Daily Reading: Titus 2v11-14 'Grace creates community'
"11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
After calling Titus to teach different groups in the church in Crete how to live gospel centred lives Paul provides the motivation for doing so in v11-14. Because the grace God has appeared and it saves and teaches and trains us to live by grace. But I want to just pause to think about something else that has struck me in this passage as I've prepared for preaching it on Sunday.
After calling Titus to teach different groups in the church in Crete how to live gospel centred lives Paul provides the motivation for doing so in v11-14. Because the grace God has appeared and it saves and teaches and trains us to live by grace. But I want to just pause to think about something else that has struck me in this passage as I've prepared for preaching it on Sunday.
Grace saves and trains us to live in community, grace creates a new family that is united and relates by grace. We see that in the language Paul uses. We are very individualistic because that is how our society teaches us to be. Independence good, dependence bad. But the gospel turns that on it's head. Grace calls together a new people (14) purified by Jesus for Jesus. It does not call individuals to be individuals, it calls all people (v11) to salvation by grace for community wherein grace teaches us how to live.
I can't help wondering if future generations will look back and be amazed that we allowed technology to so isolates us as humans, and if future generations of believers will look back and marvel at how the proliferation of great preaching available on line led people to abandon grace filled relationship in the flesh in Christ's church. Paul by contrast calls Titus to teach the church that grace creates community, its the "us... we... our... us... us... people..." of the passage. The church is Christ's treasured possession, is that how we think of it? How does that show itself?
Is grace at work teaching and training me to live a holy life in community with my church family? Is it causing me to be quick to show grace and swift to forgive? Am I concerned for us to be becoming a pure people rather than just me a pure person?
Paul writes this even though he is well aware of the imperfections of churches - just think about the letters he had to write to Corinth and Galatia. The church is not perfect but it is the place where we train in grace, where we put the lessons learnt by grace into action. If church is Jesus treasured possession ought it not to be ours too?
Friday, 4 December 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 8v16-21 'God's word: use it or lose it.'
It's always worth pausing from time to time and asking 'what changes have I made as a result of hearing God’s word?' 'How are you different now than you were a month ago?' 'How has the Bible; as you have read it for yourself, listened to it taught on Sunday and engaged in discussion about it, moulded you?' How has it affected the way you think about things, about yourself, about others, about God and about life? Has it changed the way you work? Has it changed your family?
We know that the Bible warns those who teach it to work hard, to be diligent, why? Because they will be judged for what they teach. But sometimes we can use that as an excuse – we say the Bible talk wasn’t very good today, or I’m glad that so and so was here to hear it, the implication - there is nothing there for me to learn. But in these two incidents, as in the parable of the sower, the emphasis is on the accountability of the listener. Look at (8) “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear”, (18) “Therefore consider carefully how you listen…”, (21) “my mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” Do you see the big challenge this morning – how is my listening?
In the parable of the sower Jesus gives four responses here he narrows it down and changes the illustration. He makes an obvious statement, you don’t like a lamp and then hide it in a jar – this isn’t a see through glass jar, this is a heavy thick earthen jar which would smoother the light. Why don’t you do it? Because it is no use there, it cannot do its work. The word of God is the parallel. What does the word of God do if used rightly? (15) It produces a crop, it bears fruit. But if it isn’t used, if it is hidden, if it is blanketed, smothered, then it gets choked (14) just like the seed on the third soil and produces no fruit.
Just like the light of the lamp must be lived in, must be used to expose and highlight dangers and actions required so God’s word, the Bible, must be used. When God’s word first comes to us and shows us that we have failed to give God his God place and that we face his anger and need his grace we must act on it. And as we go on and God continues to put his finger on things in our lives we must not throw the blanket over that.
Sometimes the Bible makes me uncomfortable about my life, what am I going to do with that? Sometimes we struggle to believe the promises God gives us, so we know that all our past and future sins are forgiven by Jesus on the cross and yet we fail to live in the light of that forgiveness and let guilt continue to sink its claws into us, we don’t listen to God’s word of encouragement that says Satan is not your master. Am I going to let the Bible shine its light into my life show me where I am not letting God be God and change. Or am I going to throw a blanket over it and carry on as normal?
How has the Bible changed us this month, this week? The things that God has been saying to us about our likes and dislikes, our prejudices, use of money, or time. The things he has been showing us we should be like, the challenge to love others more and more, a concern for the lost, are we going to let God’s word search us, expose us and challenge us. Or am I going to blanket it and smother it?
And Jesus then gives a warning in (17-18) that one day how we have listened will be exposed and that as a result we should listen carefully. But also that you cannot coast with the word of God, (18) seems harsh doesn’t it as it talks about those who have being given more and those who do not have losing even what they have. It doesn’t seem very fair or loving. Use it or lose it. It's back to the images in the parable, the tragedy is that those who hear the word lose it if they do not use it to produce a crop.
It is illustrated in the crowd that come to him, there are those who just hear the parable and they go away unchanged, they don’t recognise their need of grace. But the disciples who know they need grace, who recognise who Jesus is come, humbly ask and Jesus explains it. It is a picture of engagement with the word of God, they are the ones who are given more.
We need to be realistic sometimes engaging with the Bible is hard but that isn’t an excuse not to do it. We need to be those who come and ask. Use it or lose it is the warning. The encouragement is that God wants to give us understanding if we ask him for it and seek it.
(19) Luke sets the scene for us, the crowds are still growing and they are pressing around trying to hear Jesus teaching. So much so that when his mother and brothers come they can’t get to see him and have to send him a message. “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” He is told.
Now how would you expect Jesus to act? What would we do? We might send a message saying hang on I’ll be there in a minute, or just hang on a sec while I see what mum wants we may say to the crowd, or I just have to deal with this and then I’ll be right back.
We know that the Bible warns those who teach it to work hard, to be diligent, why? Because they will be judged for what they teach. But sometimes we can use that as an excuse – we say the Bible talk wasn’t very good today, or I’m glad that so and so was here to hear it, the implication - there is nothing there for me to learn. But in these two incidents, as in the parable of the sower, the emphasis is on the accountability of the listener. Look at (8) “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear”, (18) “Therefore consider carefully how you listen…”, (21) “my mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” Do you see the big challenge this morning – how is my listening?
In the parable of the sower Jesus gives four responses here he narrows it down and changes the illustration. He makes an obvious statement, you don’t like a lamp and then hide it in a jar – this isn’t a see through glass jar, this is a heavy thick earthen jar which would smoother the light. Why don’t you do it? Because it is no use there, it cannot do its work. The word of God is the parallel. What does the word of God do if used rightly? (15) It produces a crop, it bears fruit. But if it isn’t used, if it is hidden, if it is blanketed, smothered, then it gets choked (14) just like the seed on the third soil and produces no fruit.
Just like the light of the lamp must be lived in, must be used to expose and highlight dangers and actions required so God’s word, the Bible, must be used. When God’s word first comes to us and shows us that we have failed to give God his God place and that we face his anger and need his grace we must act on it. And as we go on and God continues to put his finger on things in our lives we must not throw the blanket over that.
Sometimes the Bible makes me uncomfortable about my life, what am I going to do with that? Sometimes we struggle to believe the promises God gives us, so we know that all our past and future sins are forgiven by Jesus on the cross and yet we fail to live in the light of that forgiveness and let guilt continue to sink its claws into us, we don’t listen to God’s word of encouragement that says Satan is not your master. Am I going to let the Bible shine its light into my life show me where I am not letting God be God and change. Or am I going to throw a blanket over it and carry on as normal?
How has the Bible changed us this month, this week? The things that God has been saying to us about our likes and dislikes, our prejudices, use of money, or time. The things he has been showing us we should be like, the challenge to love others more and more, a concern for the lost, are we going to let God’s word search us, expose us and challenge us. Or am I going to blanket it and smother it?
And Jesus then gives a warning in (17-18) that one day how we have listened will be exposed and that as a result we should listen carefully. But also that you cannot coast with the word of God, (18) seems harsh doesn’t it as it talks about those who have being given more and those who do not have losing even what they have. It doesn’t seem very fair or loving. Use it or lose it. It's back to the images in the parable, the tragedy is that those who hear the word lose it if they do not use it to produce a crop.
It is illustrated in the crowd that come to him, there are those who just hear the parable and they go away unchanged, they don’t recognise their need of grace. But the disciples who know they need grace, who recognise who Jesus is come, humbly ask and Jesus explains it. It is a picture of engagement with the word of God, they are the ones who are given more.
We need to be realistic sometimes engaging with the Bible is hard but that isn’t an excuse not to do it. We need to be those who come and ask. Use it or lose it is the warning. The encouragement is that God wants to give us understanding if we ask him for it and seek it.
(19) Luke sets the scene for us, the crowds are still growing and they are pressing around trying to hear Jesus teaching. So much so that when his mother and brothers come they can’t get to see him and have to send him a message. “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” He is told.
Now how would you expect Jesus to act? What would we do? We might send a message saying hang on I’ll be there in a minute, or just hang on a sec while I see what mum wants we may say to the crowd, or I just have to deal with this and then I’ll be right back.
But Jesus response is shocking isn’t it. Just before we look at it we need to put it in context with what the Bible says about family. Family is important in the Bible, in fact family is God given. God gives Eve away at the first wedding and he oversees the marriage, and then he tells them to go and have a children. Family is God given. Then in Genesis 12 what does God do? He calls Abraham, and what does he promise amongst other things? That his family will be blessed. The rest of the Old Testament is about Abraham’s family, Israel is described as God’s children with God as their father. If you want the first parenting manual then it is the Bible, Deuteronomy 6 and Proverbs provide timeless lessons in bringing up children why because family matters to God.
In the New Testament Jesus challenges the norms of family life, he does not attack or undermine family, but he challenges the place we give to family. I think in Britain we have taken family from its place as a God given good and made it an ultimate in place of God. Family has become an idol. I say that because I recognise that danger in myself. For some of us it may be the longing for a family that is an idol, that can subtly take God’s place, for others it may be our children, or grandchildren. But there is a lesson here for us in Jesus words – following Jesus must be our priority, listening to God’s word must matter most.
Some friends of ours when their daughter was a toddler and they had just had another baby were called by God to go oversees. It wasn’t a small trip and they would be away for years before they would come back. It would involve taking two small grandchildren away from both sets of grandparents and from a good church to somewhere with little church. If God made that call to us what would we do? But it doesn’t just have to be in the big things like that does it. What about opening my home to others if it means losing some family time? What about when my child says as a stroppy toddler or teenager ‘I don’t want to go to church!’ Do we not go?
We need to recognise that for us this passage is very pertinent – it asks what is most important; God’s good gift of family or his word? Do I listen to my families words or to God’s words? Is my priority my discipleship or my family?
Jesus point is that his priority is to the word of God, to the word of God that calls us to be godly parents, to love our family, to bring them up to know the God who saved us by grace, to love and care for our elderly parents. To be better family than the world is but to keep family in its place as part of our service of God in response to his word rather it being our god.
Who is Jesus family? “those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” The family characteristic of those who have responded to his words of grace and forgiveness is transformation, it is repentance, it is putting God in his God place and living with his as king. It is people whose listening results in action. They don’t just hear the call to repent and come to him by grace they act on it. They don’t just hear how Jesus words call them to live and nod their assent, they live changed by them.
How is our listening this morning? How do we know, well it is seen in how our actions change. It may be a good point just to stop and take stock. Maybe you have been around church for a while you have heard the Bible taught but never done anything with it. Jesus words need acting on. Jesus says that our sins, our rebellion against God, can be forgiven but we have to act on his words and trust him just like the woman did. Maybe you have been following Jesus a while but there is something God has been saying to you and you’ve been ignoring it. Don’t keep on like that act on it.
Why not ask when we meet up how things are, not just work and things but how is your reading of the Bible going, what is God saying to you at the moment. It could lead to some great conversations and prayer for one another.
Listening to God’s word should produce change. Grace changes us and God’s word goes on transforming us. Am I being transformed?
In the New Testament Jesus challenges the norms of family life, he does not attack or undermine family, but he challenges the place we give to family. I think in Britain we have taken family from its place as a God given good and made it an ultimate in place of God. Family has become an idol. I say that because I recognise that danger in myself. For some of us it may be the longing for a family that is an idol, that can subtly take God’s place, for others it may be our children, or grandchildren. But there is a lesson here for us in Jesus words – following Jesus must be our priority, listening to God’s word must matter most.
Some friends of ours when their daughter was a toddler and they had just had another baby were called by God to go oversees. It wasn’t a small trip and they would be away for years before they would come back. It would involve taking two small grandchildren away from both sets of grandparents and from a good church to somewhere with little church. If God made that call to us what would we do? But it doesn’t just have to be in the big things like that does it. What about opening my home to others if it means losing some family time? What about when my child says as a stroppy toddler or teenager ‘I don’t want to go to church!’ Do we not go?
We need to recognise that for us this passage is very pertinent – it asks what is most important; God’s good gift of family or his word? Do I listen to my families words or to God’s words? Is my priority my discipleship or my family?
Jesus point is that his priority is to the word of God, to the word of God that calls us to be godly parents, to love our family, to bring them up to know the God who saved us by grace, to love and care for our elderly parents. To be better family than the world is but to keep family in its place as part of our service of God in response to his word rather it being our god.
Who is Jesus family? “those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” The family characteristic of those who have responded to his words of grace and forgiveness is transformation, it is repentance, it is putting God in his God place and living with his as king. It is people whose listening results in action. They don’t just hear the call to repent and come to him by grace they act on it. They don’t just hear how Jesus words call them to live and nod their assent, they live changed by them.
How is our listening this morning? How do we know, well it is seen in how our actions change. It may be a good point just to stop and take stock. Maybe you have been around church for a while you have heard the Bible taught but never done anything with it. Jesus words need acting on. Jesus says that our sins, our rebellion against God, can be forgiven but we have to act on his words and trust him just like the woman did. Maybe you have been following Jesus a while but there is something God has been saying to you and you’ve been ignoring it. Don’t keep on like that act on it.
Why not ask when we meet up how things are, not just work and things but how is your reading of the Bible going, what is God saying to you at the moment. It could lead to some great conversations and prayer for one another.
Listening to God’s word should produce change. Grace changes us and God’s word goes on transforming us. Am I being transformed?
Thursday, 3 December 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 8v9-15 'Is talk cheap?'
Jesus as he looks at the crowd identifies 4 types of listener, notice that this is not about a one off decision it’s about an ongoing pattern in life of paying close attention to his words, of dwelling on them and living by them. I want you to help by suggesting titles for each one.
1. (12) Teflon hearing/in one ear out of the other
This person doesn’t hear, in fact Jesus says his words are snatched away by the devil so that there is no chance whatsoever of a response. The word lies on top of the hard heart so the devil can just pluck it away. It may be because of prejudice, or because of preconceptions, some in the crowd have hardened their hearts to Jesus.
2. (13) Easy listener/Easy come easy go
This is the person who hears and initially at least seems to respond to Jesus words. But then, well something goes wrong or it gets difficult, maybe someone ridicules them for being a Christian, or they come across something in the Bible and actually I just don’t want to do that, I like the way I am now, I don’t want to change, that can't be right that goes totally against society... and so they fall away.
3. (14) British listener/the choke/the leisured listener
Again these listeners hear the word of God, they hear Jesus message of grace and they begin to respond, there are signs of change. But then life gradually begins to smother it. Notice that at no point does the person reject the word, at no point do they decide no I don’t believe it, it just gradually becomes less important and slips away.
I think it’s our biggest danger. We hear Jesus words and we respond to his message, but then gradually there are the children to take to school and clubs, there is the parents evening, there is the career to continue with, there is the house to look after and improve, there is the DIY to be done, there is… and so on and so on. Maybe in our day its the leisure and search for entertainment that kills of the seed. In the tyranny of the urgent God’s word gets lost and smothered and doesn’t mature. Its potential remains unrealised and that is a tragedy.
4. (15) Fruitful/productive/active
But the last group of listeners that Jesus identifies are the ones who bear fruit. Do you see the words that Jesus uses to describe these listeners? They have a noble and a good heart, they hear his words and they keep hold of them, they will not let them go even when things are hard, they will not let other things pull it away and they keep on trusting in it. And what does it produce? It produces fruit, it changes the person who listens to it. This word of God produces a life that is marked by grace.
Do you see the encouragement here, Jesus is giving us something to aspire to. How is your listening? Do you have ears to hear? True hearing looks like listening to Jesus words continually, this is not about a one off it is about a continual listening, about on ongoing changing as we hear Jesus words to us. It's striking isn’t it that Jesus say there will be these 4 responses to the word as he teaches it. And there will be those 4 responses to it as we teach God’s word, some won’t listen, some will tragically not realise their potential even though they seem to respond, but others will bear fruit.
If Jesus is who he claims to be – God’s Son – then his words matter. His challenge to the crowd and to us is will you investigate them, will you listen to them, will you hold on to them tightly and be changed by them? Will you go on listening to them, will they become what you live your life by? And the encouragement is that as we do so they will bear fruit because that is what his word obeys does.
1. (12) Teflon hearing/in one ear out of the other
This person doesn’t hear, in fact Jesus says his words are snatched away by the devil so that there is no chance whatsoever of a response. The word lies on top of the hard heart so the devil can just pluck it away. It may be because of prejudice, or because of preconceptions, some in the crowd have hardened their hearts to Jesus.
2. (13) Easy listener/Easy come easy go
This is the person who hears and initially at least seems to respond to Jesus words. But then, well something goes wrong or it gets difficult, maybe someone ridicules them for being a Christian, or they come across something in the Bible and actually I just don’t want to do that, I like the way I am now, I don’t want to change, that can't be right that goes totally against society... and so they fall away.
3. (14) British listener/the choke/the leisured listener
Again these listeners hear the word of God, they hear Jesus message of grace and they begin to respond, there are signs of change. But then life gradually begins to smother it. Notice that at no point does the person reject the word, at no point do they decide no I don’t believe it, it just gradually becomes less important and slips away.
I think it’s our biggest danger. We hear Jesus words and we respond to his message, but then gradually there are the children to take to school and clubs, there is the parents evening, there is the career to continue with, there is the house to look after and improve, there is the DIY to be done, there is… and so on and so on. Maybe in our day its the leisure and search for entertainment that kills of the seed. In the tyranny of the urgent God’s word gets lost and smothered and doesn’t mature. Its potential remains unrealised and that is a tragedy.
4. (15) Fruitful/productive/active
But the last group of listeners that Jesus identifies are the ones who bear fruit. Do you see the words that Jesus uses to describe these listeners? They have a noble and a good heart, they hear his words and they keep hold of them, they will not let them go even when things are hard, they will not let other things pull it away and they keep on trusting in it. And what does it produce? It produces fruit, it changes the person who listens to it. This word of God produces a life that is marked by grace.
Do you see the encouragement here, Jesus is giving us something to aspire to. How is your listening? Do you have ears to hear? True hearing looks like listening to Jesus words continually, this is not about a one off it is about a continual listening, about on ongoing changing as we hear Jesus words to us. It's striking isn’t it that Jesus say there will be these 4 responses to the word as he teaches it. And there will be those 4 responses to it as we teach God’s word, some won’t listen, some will tragically not realise their potential even though they seem to respond, but others will bear fruit.
If Jesus is who he claims to be – God’s Son – then his words matter. His challenge to the crowd and to us is will you investigate them, will you listen to them, will you hold on to them tightly and be changed by them? Will you go on listening to them, will they become what you live your life by? And the encouragement is that as we do so they will bear fruit because that is what his word obeys does.
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 8v4-8 'Fruitful follower?'
In Jesus day there were lots of different ideas about him too. Just glance back to (16) and you’ll see that some people thought he was a prophet, others flock to see him because he can do miracles, the Pharisees aren’t sure what to make of him, and John the Baptist thinks he is God’s Messiah – his long promised King and Saviour, God come to be with his people. And as this crowd (4) gathers round and keeps on growing in response to his travelling preaching the questions buzz around, is this God’s king? Is this the Messiah? Is he the one who will boot the Romans out of Israel and re-establish us as God’s kingdom? The crowd come flocking to hear the words of a dynamic revolutionary leader sketch out his plans for the glorious future of Israel.
But this crowd has a perception problem and it is so serious it will stop them listening to Jesus words – it will stop them really hearing. Their expectations are wrong they come expecting to hear of a triumphant kingdom and instead Jesus speaks of the simple farmer throwing out seed. Instead of glory and rule and reign he talks about the word of God. And it isn’t just them is it. We may think we know what Jesus says so we don’t actually listen to what he is really saying. Do you notice here that Jesus calls the people to listen carefully? (8) “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear…” Jesus wants people to listen to his words not let their expectations drown them out – it’s a cry from the Old Testament that should have been familiar to his listeners.
(1)What has Jesus been doing as he has gone from town to town? He has been “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” He has been telling people how to get into God’s kingdom – it matters, it is important and he longs for people to listen. That good news isn’t of a revolutionary overthrow of the Romans it is of (4:18-19) “the year of the Lord’s favour”. Jesus comes to tell people that they can be forgiven their debts with God.
Sometimes people then and now think that Christianity is spelt DO. In other words Christianity teaches that you have to do this and don’t do that in order to be made right with God. It gives you a picture of God with a balance sheet. But actually as Jesus teaches the word that stands out is not Do but DONE. Just look back at the previous account Luke has given us. Jesus tells this story (41-42). And the shock is that the debt of both parties is wiped out, their un-payable debt is cancelled. And Jesus applied that story to this woman who is a notorious sinner and he says she is saved by faith. Not by what she does, not by do, but just by trusting in him.
Jesus has been proclaiming God’s word, his message of grace to people. God will cancel your debt, God will forgive you for running away from him, for wanting to decide right and wrong for yourself if you will trust in me. At the end of Luke’s gospel we see the price of that forgiveness as Jesus pays for it.
So Jesus tells the expectant crowd this parable as a perception filter, (10) those who want to hear will come near to listen but he knows that actually many though they hear don’t want to understand, in fact they only want what they have come for. For them his words don’t matter.
The big question of the passage is will I listen to Jesus words? Have I got ears that hear words of grace that tell us we can be forgiven for our rebellion against God. Have we stopped listening to God's word of grace and tried to add to it the law? Which of the soils am I most like now? Which was I most like a year or 5 years ago? Which do I most want to be like? Am I fruitful? They are hard questions to ask but they need to be answered. Why not pray right now about your responses.
But this crowd has a perception problem and it is so serious it will stop them listening to Jesus words – it will stop them really hearing. Their expectations are wrong they come expecting to hear of a triumphant kingdom and instead Jesus speaks of the simple farmer throwing out seed. Instead of glory and rule and reign he talks about the word of God. And it isn’t just them is it. We may think we know what Jesus says so we don’t actually listen to what he is really saying. Do you notice here that Jesus calls the people to listen carefully? (8) “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear…” Jesus wants people to listen to his words not let their expectations drown them out – it’s a cry from the Old Testament that should have been familiar to his listeners.
(1)What has Jesus been doing as he has gone from town to town? He has been “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” He has been telling people how to get into God’s kingdom – it matters, it is important and he longs for people to listen. That good news isn’t of a revolutionary overthrow of the Romans it is of (4:18-19) “the year of the Lord’s favour”. Jesus comes to tell people that they can be forgiven their debts with God.
Sometimes people then and now think that Christianity is spelt DO. In other words Christianity teaches that you have to do this and don’t do that in order to be made right with God. It gives you a picture of God with a balance sheet. But actually as Jesus teaches the word that stands out is not Do but DONE. Just look back at the previous account Luke has given us. Jesus tells this story (41-42). And the shock is that the debt of both parties is wiped out, their un-payable debt is cancelled. And Jesus applied that story to this woman who is a notorious sinner and he says she is saved by faith. Not by what she does, not by do, but just by trusting in him.
Jesus has been proclaiming God’s word, his message of grace to people. God will cancel your debt, God will forgive you for running away from him, for wanting to decide right and wrong for yourself if you will trust in me. At the end of Luke’s gospel we see the price of that forgiveness as Jesus pays for it.
So Jesus tells the expectant crowd this parable as a perception filter, (10) those who want to hear will come near to listen but he knows that actually many though they hear don’t want to understand, in fact they only want what they have come for. For them his words don’t matter.
The big question of the passage is will I listen to Jesus words? Have I got ears that hear words of grace that tell us we can be forgiven for our rebellion against God. Have we stopped listening to God's word of grace and tried to add to it the law? Which of the soils am I most like now? Which was I most like a year or 5 years ago? Which do I most want to be like? Am I fruitful? They are hard questions to ask but they need to be answered. Why not pray right now about your responses.
Monday, 30 November 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 7v36-50 'Finding forgiveness'
The scene is set in (36) Jesus is eating in the home of Simon, a Pharisee. It’s worth noting that Jesus doesn’t just eat with the Tax Collectors but with everyone because that is who the message of the good news of the kingdom of God is for. When suddenly the conversation, which Luke tells us nothing of, stops and everyone turns to look at this infamous woman who has just walked into the room. There is some muttering and shuffling of feet as people move back out of her way as she walks with her head bowed low and carrying a jar in her hands right up to where Jesus is reclining. Then the shock deepens as tears begin to drop onto his feet, she loosens her hair and begins wiping away her tears with it. Then she breaks the jar and pours the perfume on his feet.
Simon is horrified, not only at the woman but at Jesus. Do you see his logic (39) no prophet would let this sinful woman touch him, Jesus did therefore he cannot know what she is like therefore he cannot be a prophet. But Simon has misunderstood Jesus and Jesus shows him exactly that. Luke shows us the contrast between who Simon thinks Jesus is and who the woman thinks Jesus is which is right. Do you notice that not only does Jesus know who the woman is (47) but he even knows what Simon is thinking (47), and he goes on to tell him a brilliant story (41-42).
What do you notice about the two men? They both owed money and neither of them could repay it. These are not insignificant sums of money a Denarii was about a days wage – so one man owes two months wages and another about a year and three quarters. The shock in the story is in how the money lender reacts. Imagine phoning your credit card company up tomorrow and you have run up about £30,000 of debt. You tell them you can’t pay it and the voice on the other end of the line says ‘Ok then we’ll just forget it.’ I guess we wouldn’t believe it, we’d want to check it out, we’d want written proof, because things like that just don’t happen. It was the same in Jesus day, yet these two men are forgiven their un-payable debts.
Simon is operating on amorality ladder here, comparing himself to this sinful woman. He would be up here and she would be down there. But do you see what the biggest shock is here? Wherever you put yourself Jesus says the debt is un-payable – “neither could pay him back.” Simons little sin leaves him just as lost as the woman’s big sin, just as incapable of rebalancing the scales. Jesus words were shocking then and they still shock now, it tells us we owe a debt we cannot ever repay, that being right with God is not comparative with one another. So what is the answer?
Well the answer is sat round the table with Simon, it is the one who welcomes sinners, it is the one who can say to this woman “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Do you noticed how Luke emphasises the forgiveness that Jesus gives? (47-50) twice Jesus says she is forgiven, the guests question his forgiveness and he sends her away saved by faith in him. Jesus cancels the un-payable debt. A great sinner needs a great saviour. It tells us that we can never be too bad for God, but it also warns us we can never be good enough either. That it is only by faith in Jesus that we will be saved.
How do we see ourselves? I guess we either see ourselves as great sinners or as Simon sees himself as a little sinner. But both need to have to debt paid and Jesus does it. Do you see how serious sin is? But do you see how wonderful the Saviour is?
In (18-35) Jesus has called for John the Baptist to have faith in Jesus as the one. To believe in him and respond to him as wisdom’s children, rather than as the brats of (31-34). Here we see these two groups – Simon is like the children who will not recognise Jesus because he doesn’t conform to his expectations. But the woman accepts who Jesus is and is saved by her faith. It is important to notice the order here. My hunch is that the woman has met or heard Jesus teach before. Why do I say that? Because she comes prepared to worship him, because the word “forgiven” that is used is in the past tense – Jesus is not forgiving her there and then it is a statement that she has been forgiven already, and it is her faith (50) which has prompted her actions.
She doesn’t come to do this so her debt is cancelled she comes because she wants to respond and worship Jesus for the forgiveness she has experienced. Her faith is seen in her actions, she responds as a great sinner forgiven by a great saviour. She shows humility and devotion, her kisses are a sign of welcome, and her anointing is a sign of lavish costly love and gratitude.
And Jesus contrasts that with Simon (44-47) who doesn’t kiss him in welcome, anoint him, or even provide a bowl so Jesus can wash his feet. Do you see the contrasts in action. They reveal how people feel about Jesus. (42) “Which of them loved him more?” The woman clearly loves Jesus, whereas there is no sign of Simon loving Jesus.
But this woman responds as someone who knows forgiveness, who knows she can never deserve or earn what Jesus does for her, but who loves him for what he has done. Do you see the right response to realising that we are great sinners and Jesus is a great saviour, that he has paid our un-payable debt? It is to love him. And yes we should be responding emotionally to his grace.
I’m not saying we should all weep and wail, it may be that we cry, it may be quite reflection, it may be pouring out our grateful thanks to God in prayer for our utterly undeserved forgiveness. That’s why it is helpful for us to sing God’s praises together, the songs help us to respond emotionally to God and to his grace. Songs must not manipulate our emotions, but they are there as we sing the words to facilitate us to respond to God as we praise him for his undeserved love for us.
Sometimes we struggle to respond to God and maybe that’s you this morning. There are two reasons why we struggle I think. One is that we fail to understand our sin – we think like Simon – I didn’t have to be forgiven much. That means we undervalue the cross and don’t love Jesus very much. The antidote is to look again at the pass mark and recognise that actually our debt is un-payable. That’s why we need to be reminded from the Bible and by each other of the horror of sin. That’s why when we meet together we need to spend some time confessing our sin.
Simon is horrified, not only at the woman but at Jesus. Do you see his logic (39) no prophet would let this sinful woman touch him, Jesus did therefore he cannot know what she is like therefore he cannot be a prophet. But Simon has misunderstood Jesus and Jesus shows him exactly that. Luke shows us the contrast between who Simon thinks Jesus is and who the woman thinks Jesus is which is right. Do you notice that not only does Jesus know who the woman is (47) but he even knows what Simon is thinking (47), and he goes on to tell him a brilliant story (41-42).
What do you notice about the two men? They both owed money and neither of them could repay it. These are not insignificant sums of money a Denarii was about a days wage – so one man owes two months wages and another about a year and three quarters. The shock in the story is in how the money lender reacts. Imagine phoning your credit card company up tomorrow and you have run up about £30,000 of debt. You tell them you can’t pay it and the voice on the other end of the line says ‘Ok then we’ll just forget it.’ I guess we wouldn’t believe it, we’d want to check it out, we’d want written proof, because things like that just don’t happen. It was the same in Jesus day, yet these two men are forgiven their un-payable debts.
Simon is operating on amorality ladder here, comparing himself to this sinful woman. He would be up here and she would be down there. But do you see what the biggest shock is here? Wherever you put yourself Jesus says the debt is un-payable – “neither could pay him back.” Simons little sin leaves him just as lost as the woman’s big sin, just as incapable of rebalancing the scales. Jesus words were shocking then and they still shock now, it tells us we owe a debt we cannot ever repay, that being right with God is not comparative with one another. So what is the answer?
Well the answer is sat round the table with Simon, it is the one who welcomes sinners, it is the one who can say to this woman “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Do you noticed how Luke emphasises the forgiveness that Jesus gives? (47-50) twice Jesus says she is forgiven, the guests question his forgiveness and he sends her away saved by faith in him. Jesus cancels the un-payable debt. A great sinner needs a great saviour. It tells us that we can never be too bad for God, but it also warns us we can never be good enough either. That it is only by faith in Jesus that we will be saved.
How do we see ourselves? I guess we either see ourselves as great sinners or as Simon sees himself as a little sinner. But both need to have to debt paid and Jesus does it. Do you see how serious sin is? But do you see how wonderful the Saviour is?
In (18-35) Jesus has called for John the Baptist to have faith in Jesus as the one. To believe in him and respond to him as wisdom’s children, rather than as the brats of (31-34). Here we see these two groups – Simon is like the children who will not recognise Jesus because he doesn’t conform to his expectations. But the woman accepts who Jesus is and is saved by her faith. It is important to notice the order here. My hunch is that the woman has met or heard Jesus teach before. Why do I say that? Because she comes prepared to worship him, because the word “forgiven” that is used is in the past tense – Jesus is not forgiving her there and then it is a statement that she has been forgiven already, and it is her faith (50) which has prompted her actions.
She doesn’t come to do this so her debt is cancelled she comes because she wants to respond and worship Jesus for the forgiveness she has experienced. Her faith is seen in her actions, she responds as a great sinner forgiven by a great saviour. She shows humility and devotion, her kisses are a sign of welcome, and her anointing is a sign of lavish costly love and gratitude.
And Jesus contrasts that with Simon (44-47) who doesn’t kiss him in welcome, anoint him, or even provide a bowl so Jesus can wash his feet. Do you see the contrasts in action. They reveal how people feel about Jesus. (42) “Which of them loved him more?” The woman clearly loves Jesus, whereas there is no sign of Simon loving Jesus.
But this woman responds as someone who knows forgiveness, who knows she can never deserve or earn what Jesus does for her, but who loves him for what he has done. Do you see the right response to realising that we are great sinners and Jesus is a great saviour, that he has paid our un-payable debt? It is to love him. And yes we should be responding emotionally to his grace.
I’m not saying we should all weep and wail, it may be that we cry, it may be quite reflection, it may be pouring out our grateful thanks to God in prayer for our utterly undeserved forgiveness. That’s why it is helpful for us to sing God’s praises together, the songs help us to respond emotionally to God and to his grace. Songs must not manipulate our emotions, but they are there as we sing the words to facilitate us to respond to God as we praise him for his undeserved love for us.
Sometimes we struggle to respond to God and maybe that’s you this morning. There are two reasons why we struggle I think. One is that we fail to understand our sin – we think like Simon – I didn’t have to be forgiven much. That means we undervalue the cross and don’t love Jesus very much. The antidote is to look again at the pass mark and recognise that actually our debt is un-payable. That’s why we need to be reminded from the Bible and by each other of the horror of sin. That’s why when we meet together we need to spend some time confessing our sin.
The other reason we struggle to respond to God is that we think we are too bad and we allow guilt to mortgage the freedom and peace God gives us by his grace. We lose sight of the great saviour we have. Who says to us the same as he said to the woman “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” We need to be reminding each other than we are saved by faith, we need to sing it, to hear it week in week out.
The only right response to God’s grace which holds nothing back in order to save me is to hold nothing back from serving him. This woman’s actions cost her financially and socially, the women (8:1-3) who follow Jesus love him and put their faith in him and it is seen in their serving and financially supporting the work of proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
How lavish is my love of God? Does it cost me socially – this woman’s love is very publicly displayed is ours? Does it cost me financially? Do I give to the gospel? Do I respond emotionally? Who am I most like? Simon or the sinful but forgiven woman? Tell yourself: I am a great sinner, but I have a great Saviour, so now I am transformed into a grateful forgiven sinner.
The only right response to God’s grace which holds nothing back in order to save me is to hold nothing back from serving him. This woman’s actions cost her financially and socially, the women (8:1-3) who follow Jesus love him and put their faith in him and it is seen in their serving and financially supporting the work of proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
How lavish is my love of God? Does it cost me socially – this woman’s love is very publicly displayed is ours? Does it cost me financially? Do I give to the gospel? Do I respond emotionally? Who am I most like? Simon or the sinful but forgiven woman? Tell yourself: I am a great sinner, but I have a great Saviour, so now I am transformed into a grateful forgiven sinner.
Sunday, 29 November 2015
Daily Reading: Galatians 4v4-7 'Can I really call God 'Father'?'
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
In Jesus God makes it possible for us to be his sons. But he does more than that God isn’t just bothered about our legal status, he wants us to live and relate to him as sons to a Father. Imagine a couple adopt a child. How would they feel when the adoption papers are signed and they have legally adopted that child? They’d be thrilled. But imagine the difference when a few months later that child falls over and scrapes their knee and looks up with tears in their eyes and cries out ‘Mum’ or ‘Dad’ to them. Then it wouldn’t just be a legal relationship but a living, breathing, loving reality.
That is what (6)describes. God sends his Spirit into our hearts to make our legal status as sons a living breathing, relating reality, so that we know him and live with him as our Father. “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
Who out of all the characters in the Bible has the closest relationship with God? Jesus. There is a constant loving intimacy between God the Father and God the Son. God the Father declares his love and delight in his Son at Jesus baptism. Throughout his ministry Jesus relies on his Father, listen to him, speaks to him, and lovingly work to please his Father because their goals, passions and delights are the same. In his bleakest hour Jesus instinctively turns to his Father and places his Spirit, his very life, in his father’s hands because he trusts him.
Now look at how the Spirit God puts into the believers heart is described here; “the Spirit of his Son”. God enables us to enjoy the same relationship and intimacy with him that Jesus did. That’s why the cry is ‘Abba, Father’, a cry of intimacy, love, trust, delight, care, and security.
(7)Paul concludes; God is a loving Father and by faith in Jesus and what he has done for us we become his Sons, not just legally but in a living, breathing, developing relationship with God the ultimate Father.
How do you think of God? It matters because only when you see God as loving Father will you long to know him, and realise he has made it possible, and will you want to trust him. Only then will you see how much he loved us in sending Jesus so we can be his sons. God waits with open arms ready to welcome you as his Son if you will trust in Jesus.
If I’m a son because of what Jesus has done I don’t need to try to earn it, to boast in what I have done, to be driven by and burdened by performance and I can simply enjoy getting to know God secure in his love.
If I’m God’s son I can always speak to God my Father, freed from worrying about saying the right things in a certain way. As we pray – and prayer is us talking to God – we don’t have to do things to be accepted, we are accepted, we are loved children liberated to speak to God confident in his acceptance.
As a Son I’m sure, I’m not scared that I might do something that will jeopardise my sonship instead I entrust myself to my loving Father and joyfully listen to his words knowing he is always for me.
Because I’m a son I can allow the Bible and others to open up my heart and expose my sin because whatever is there will not destroy my sonship because Jesus has already made me a son.
As a son I am liberated to love others not feel threatened by them, superior to them, or envious of them and the gifts they may have because they aren’t any more or less of a son than I am.
In Jesus God makes it possible for us to be his sons. But he does more than that God isn’t just bothered about our legal status, he wants us to live and relate to him as sons to a Father. Imagine a couple adopt a child. How would they feel when the adoption papers are signed and they have legally adopted that child? They’d be thrilled. But imagine the difference when a few months later that child falls over and scrapes their knee and looks up with tears in their eyes and cries out ‘Mum’ or ‘Dad’ to them. Then it wouldn’t just be a legal relationship but a living, breathing, loving reality.
That is what (6)describes. God sends his Spirit into our hearts to make our legal status as sons a living breathing, relating reality, so that we know him and live with him as our Father. “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
Who out of all the characters in the Bible has the closest relationship with God? Jesus. There is a constant loving intimacy between God the Father and God the Son. God the Father declares his love and delight in his Son at Jesus baptism. Throughout his ministry Jesus relies on his Father, listen to him, speaks to him, and lovingly work to please his Father because their goals, passions and delights are the same. In his bleakest hour Jesus instinctively turns to his Father and places his Spirit, his very life, in his father’s hands because he trusts him.
Now look at how the Spirit God puts into the believers heart is described here; “the Spirit of his Son”. God enables us to enjoy the same relationship and intimacy with him that Jesus did. That’s why the cry is ‘Abba, Father’, a cry of intimacy, love, trust, delight, care, and security.
(7)Paul concludes; God is a loving Father and by faith in Jesus and what he has done for us we become his Sons, not just legally but in a living, breathing, developing relationship with God the ultimate Father.
How do you think of God? It matters because only when you see God as loving Father will you long to know him, and realise he has made it possible, and will you want to trust him. Only then will you see how much he loved us in sending Jesus so we can be his sons. God waits with open arms ready to welcome you as his Son if you will trust in Jesus.
If I’m a son because of what Jesus has done I don’t need to try to earn it, to boast in what I have done, to be driven by and burdened by performance and I can simply enjoy getting to know God secure in his love.
If I’m God’s son I can always speak to God my Father, freed from worrying about saying the right things in a certain way. As we pray – and prayer is us talking to God – we don’t have to do things to be accepted, we are accepted, we are loved children liberated to speak to God confident in his acceptance.
As a Son I’m sure, I’m not scared that I might do something that will jeopardise my sonship instead I entrust myself to my loving Father and joyfully listen to his words knowing he is always for me.
Because I’m a son I can allow the Bible and others to open up my heart and expose my sin because whatever is there will not destroy my sonship because Jesus has already made me a son.
As a son I am liberated to love others not feel threatened by them, superior to them, or envious of them and the gifts they may have because they aren’t any more or less of a son than I am.
Saturday, 28 November 2015
Daily reading: Galatians 4v4-7 'There's no coupon for that...'
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
Redemption is one of the Bible's big themes. Yet curiously it is one of the ones which I think e most struggle to appreciate. Our world and the world of the Bible are poles apart when it comes to what we mean by the word redeem. Today we most frequently use it of redeeming a coupon to get money off something, so 50p off here or £2 off there. And when you turn the voucher over it says something like cash value 0.001p. Therefore we tend to think of redemption as something cheap.
The Bible's use of the word redemption is of a different magnitude altogether. The Exodus is spoken of as a redemption, Exodus 6v6 ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgement.' God redeems his people from slavery, he buys them back at cost to himself. But there is more to it than just buying someone out of slavery. To redeem meant to bind yourself to the one redeemed and it promised powerful intervention and effective restoration.
It is what we see in the wonderful redemption story that is the book of Ruth. Boaz redeems the land and the family. At cost to himself to buys back the land and agrees to restore the family name and fortunes as he binds himself as he marries Ruth and raises children for the family. Redemption is not a cold hard legal transaction it is entering into a relationship.
Paul tells the Galatians that they are no longer slaves because God has in Jesus redeemed them. He has bought them out of slavery bound himself to them and promises powerful intervention on their behalf and effective restoration. When Christ redeemed us he does no less. Don;t downplay your redemption, don't dismiss it.
Here's four questions I've found it helpful to think on as I muse on this:
1. What difference does this make to how I think of myself?
2. How have I forgotten this truth and how is that seen in my living?
3. What would it look like for me to really grasp this truth and how would it transform my living?
4. How does forgetting it and remembering it affect all my relationships: with God, with family, with church, with the world?
Redemption is one of the Bible's big themes. Yet curiously it is one of the ones which I think e most struggle to appreciate. Our world and the world of the Bible are poles apart when it comes to what we mean by the word redeem. Today we most frequently use it of redeeming a coupon to get money off something, so 50p off here or £2 off there. And when you turn the voucher over it says something like cash value 0.001p. Therefore we tend to think of redemption as something cheap.
The Bible's use of the word redemption is of a different magnitude altogether. The Exodus is spoken of as a redemption, Exodus 6v6 ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgement.' God redeems his people from slavery, he buys them back at cost to himself. But there is more to it than just buying someone out of slavery. To redeem meant to bind yourself to the one redeemed and it promised powerful intervention and effective restoration.
It is what we see in the wonderful redemption story that is the book of Ruth. Boaz redeems the land and the family. At cost to himself to buys back the land and agrees to restore the family name and fortunes as he binds himself as he marries Ruth and raises children for the family. Redemption is not a cold hard legal transaction it is entering into a relationship.
Paul tells the Galatians that they are no longer slaves because God has in Jesus redeemed them. He has bought them out of slavery bound himself to them and promises powerful intervention on their behalf and effective restoration. When Christ redeemed us he does no less. Don;t downplay your redemption, don't dismiss it.
Here's four questions I've found it helpful to think on as I muse on this:
1. What difference does this make to how I think of myself?
2. How have I forgotten this truth and how is that seen in my living?
3. What would it look like for me to really grasp this truth and how would it transform my living?
4. How does forgetting it and remembering it affect all my relationships: with God, with family, with church, with the world?
Friday, 27 November 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 7v18-35 'You can't please all of the people...'
What’s the big surprise in this passage? It is the question John asks, and which Luke emphasises by including it twice in v19-20. There was no bold or italics so repetition performed that task. “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” It's no surprise that such questions punctuate Luke's gospel given that he is writing to convince Theophilus beyond a shadow of a doubt who Jesus is and that he is worth following.
Why is it a surprising question? Because of who asks it – John the Baptist – he is the get ready guy, (27) the messenger sent to get the way ready for Jesus - God in human form, to come to his people - and he has been doing just that. He had baptised Jesus, has pointed him out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But now he is in Herod’s prison and his question is are you the one we have been waiting for. Now we aren’t told what exactly caused that question but here’s my hunch. Just glance back at 3:16-17, where we see John announcing the Messiah’s coming. What does he expect? Power, fire, winnowing and judgement. As he sits in jail he hears about Jesus ministry and there isn’t any judgement. John is expecting imminent judgement, he is expecting those who oppose God to be dealt with because the kingdom of God is at hand.
As Jesus refers to John he quotes Malachi 3:1 confirming that John is the forerunner, we’ll be looking at Malachi in November, but there is in that promise a dual coming in view. John has been looking for the imminent judgement but it is still distant. I was reading a novel recently; it was set in two towns in Colorado – I’ve searched and can’t tell you whether these are real or fictional but it makes the point. The character comes across a town called Hope because as the settlers looked on the horizon the Rocky Mountains looked close. 12 miles further on is the town of Despair because they realised as they journeyed that it was an optical illusion and the mountains were still 200 miles away.
John the Baptist, and we, lived in that time of tension. The kingdom of God has come in Jesus and if we believe in him in us but it has not yet been established in the world we live in, and that causes us tension.
I guess we would say we don’t believe in the prosperity gospel, the idea that Christians should be free from suffering and be wealthy and blessed materially. But I was challenged this week that actually in a hundred little ways we do – we expect a pay rise every year at least in line with inflation, when we experience serious illness, or lose our job, or are not given the relationship we want we ask what God is doing. Do you see what is going on there – we subtly expect life to be easy, to be blessed, to live life without hardships.
But actually as you mine the gospels you don’t find that promise. We live in the time of tension. God’s kingdom has come now in us but it has not come fully yet. The hardships are not a sign that we are not God’s people, or that he has not saved us, or that he does not know what he is doing it is a sign that we live waiting for his coming again.
It is striking the way Jesus deals with this question. There’s no recoil of horror, no frantic panicked reaction. Jesus gives John’s disciples the evidence of who he is and ends with a call (23) for John to trust him. As Jesus gives the answer he does so with the background of a collage of Old Testament references. He directs John to the evidence in God’s word that he is the one who was to come. Just as the question is asked twice so the evidence is given twice, with John’s disciples there (21) “Jesus cured many who had diseases, illnesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.” Then he tells them “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
Jesus is using the same terms he used when he launched his ministry in Luke 4:18-19 as he uses Isaiah to define his mission. He is saying 'John, I am the one and I am doing what the Old Testament said I would so believe in me. I am the servant of the Lord, the one who comes from the wilderness, the perfect Son.'
That little phrase in (23) isn’t Jesus rebuking John for his question, it is Jesus calling on John not to fall, not to abandon belief, because he is the one. Are you struggling with your faith this morning? Jesus says ask questions, find out the answers but don’t abandon faith. Maybe like Theophilus the question is can I be certain, maybe like the early church the cause is persecution, or maybe like John the problem is the tension between the now and the not yet.
Jesus then warns the crowd with the ‘parable of the brats’ (31-35). It’s nice to see children haven’t changed in two thousand years. You are like children, says Jesus, who will not listen to people who do not fit in with your ideas and ways of doing things. So John and his warning is rejected because he is too austere, too odd. But Jesus is rejected because he eats and drinks and is not austere/religious enough.
There is a warning here that we need to read the Bible and understand who it says Jesus is, not try to fit him into a little box of what we want our Messiah to look like and refuse to accept anything else. In contrast there are those who accept who Jesus is; the wise. The surprise is who they are, it is not the religious people it is the Tax Collectors (20), the Centurion (1-10) and the sinful woman (38). But Jesus welcomes them. The Kingdom is composed of those who recognise they need Jesus.
Why is it a surprising question? Because of who asks it – John the Baptist – he is the get ready guy, (27) the messenger sent to get the way ready for Jesus - God in human form, to come to his people - and he has been doing just that. He had baptised Jesus, has pointed him out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But now he is in Herod’s prison and his question is are you the one we have been waiting for. Now we aren’t told what exactly caused that question but here’s my hunch. Just glance back at 3:16-17, where we see John announcing the Messiah’s coming. What does he expect? Power, fire, winnowing and judgement. As he sits in jail he hears about Jesus ministry and there isn’t any judgement. John is expecting imminent judgement, he is expecting those who oppose God to be dealt with because the kingdom of God is at hand.
As Jesus refers to John he quotes Malachi 3:1 confirming that John is the forerunner, we’ll be looking at Malachi in November, but there is in that promise a dual coming in view. John has been looking for the imminent judgement but it is still distant. I was reading a novel recently; it was set in two towns in Colorado – I’ve searched and can’t tell you whether these are real or fictional but it makes the point. The character comes across a town called Hope because as the settlers looked on the horizon the Rocky Mountains looked close. 12 miles further on is the town of Despair because they realised as they journeyed that it was an optical illusion and the mountains were still 200 miles away.
John the Baptist, and we, lived in that time of tension. The kingdom of God has come in Jesus and if we believe in him in us but it has not yet been established in the world we live in, and that causes us tension.
I guess we would say we don’t believe in the prosperity gospel, the idea that Christians should be free from suffering and be wealthy and blessed materially. But I was challenged this week that actually in a hundred little ways we do – we expect a pay rise every year at least in line with inflation, when we experience serious illness, or lose our job, or are not given the relationship we want we ask what God is doing. Do you see what is going on there – we subtly expect life to be easy, to be blessed, to live life without hardships.
But actually as you mine the gospels you don’t find that promise. We live in the time of tension. God’s kingdom has come now in us but it has not come fully yet. The hardships are not a sign that we are not God’s people, or that he has not saved us, or that he does not know what he is doing it is a sign that we live waiting for his coming again.
It is striking the way Jesus deals with this question. There’s no recoil of horror, no frantic panicked reaction. Jesus gives John’s disciples the evidence of who he is and ends with a call (23) for John to trust him. As Jesus gives the answer he does so with the background of a collage of Old Testament references. He directs John to the evidence in God’s word that he is the one who was to come. Just as the question is asked twice so the evidence is given twice, with John’s disciples there (21) “Jesus cured many who had diseases, illnesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.” Then he tells them “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
Jesus is using the same terms he used when he launched his ministry in Luke 4:18-19 as he uses Isaiah to define his mission. He is saying 'John, I am the one and I am doing what the Old Testament said I would so believe in me. I am the servant of the Lord, the one who comes from the wilderness, the perfect Son.'
That little phrase in (23) isn’t Jesus rebuking John for his question, it is Jesus calling on John not to fall, not to abandon belief, because he is the one. Are you struggling with your faith this morning? Jesus says ask questions, find out the answers but don’t abandon faith. Maybe like Theophilus the question is can I be certain, maybe like the early church the cause is persecution, or maybe like John the problem is the tension between the now and the not yet.
Jesus then warns the crowd with the ‘parable of the brats’ (31-35). It’s nice to see children haven’t changed in two thousand years. You are like children, says Jesus, who will not listen to people who do not fit in with your ideas and ways of doing things. So John and his warning is rejected because he is too austere, too odd. But Jesus is rejected because he eats and drinks and is not austere/religious enough.
There is a warning here that we need to read the Bible and understand who it says Jesus is, not try to fit him into a little box of what we want our Messiah to look like and refuse to accept anything else. In contrast there are those who accept who Jesus is; the wise. The surprise is who they are, it is not the religious people it is the Tax Collectors (20), the Centurion (1-10) and the sinful woman (38). But Jesus welcomes them. The Kingdom is composed of those who recognise they need Jesus.
Jesus does not fit nicely into our boxes - religious, good man. He will not be domesticated or fitted in. He stands as the Son of God and demands that we accept him on his terms and follow him, and when we do we find life and joy.
Thursday, 26 November 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 7v11-17 'Reaching the wrong conclusion'
The passage is staggering isn't it. Just stop and picture the scene for a minute or two. There's the noise; wailing and weeping. The faces you can see with tears, strain and grief etched on every one. There is the weight of loss and the finality of death; the death of a loved one, the death of relationships, the death of hopes and dreams. Don't rush past it, sit for a minute and imagine the scene, the rawness of the emotions, the utterly hopelessness.
It is only as we do so that we really see the wonder of what Jesus does here. Because into it all walks Jesus, he sees the grieving mother and his heart goes out to her. The Son of God is moved by the plight of this mother in her loss and grief. But he is not moved as you and I would be moved, he is moved to act, to bring life where there is death, to bring joy where there is grief, to bring hope where there is only despair. Because he is God the Son.
It is only as we picture the scene and feel the emotions that we will react as the crowd does, filled with awe and praised God. But unlike the crowd who get their response both right - the awe and praise - and wrong - in their conclusion that he is a prophet - we know that Jesus is so much more than just a prophet. Truly and in the most amazing, mind blowing way possible "God has come to help his people." But by doing far more than raising one widows son amazing though that is. His actions here give us a glimpse into the heart and purposes of God, whose heart goes out to us and who is moved to act to conquer death. This scene gives us a glimpse in microcosm of what God in Christ has done for us, it allows us to glimpse the wonder of his Kingdom, where sin and death are no more. No pain, suffering, loss, grief, tears, where a relationship is never cut short.
What difference does it make? God cares, as we go about our day, as we face loss, suffering, grief God cares. He is not distant and indifferent but watching and concerned. He is not inactive he has already won and secure the victory, we live as his people waiting for his return trusting day by day, minute by minute in his care and concern for us. That one day just as with the mother he wiped away her tears he will do the same for us not temporarily but permanently and it will all be worth it.
It is only as we do so that we really see the wonder of what Jesus does here. Because into it all walks Jesus, he sees the grieving mother and his heart goes out to her. The Son of God is moved by the plight of this mother in her loss and grief. But he is not moved as you and I would be moved, he is moved to act, to bring life where there is death, to bring joy where there is grief, to bring hope where there is only despair. Because he is God the Son.
It is only as we picture the scene and feel the emotions that we will react as the crowd does, filled with awe and praised God. But unlike the crowd who get their response both right - the awe and praise - and wrong - in their conclusion that he is a prophet - we know that Jesus is so much more than just a prophet. Truly and in the most amazing, mind blowing way possible "God has come to help his people." But by doing far more than raising one widows son amazing though that is. His actions here give us a glimpse into the heart and purposes of God, whose heart goes out to us and who is moved to act to conquer death. This scene gives us a glimpse in microcosm of what God in Christ has done for us, it allows us to glimpse the wonder of his Kingdom, where sin and death are no more. No pain, suffering, loss, grief, tears, where a relationship is never cut short.
What difference does it make? God cares, as we go about our day, as we face loss, suffering, grief God cares. He is not distant and indifferent but watching and concerned. He is not inactive he has already won and secure the victory, we live as his people waiting for his return trusting day by day, minute by minute in his care and concern for us. That one day just as with the mother he wiped away her tears he will do the same for us not temporarily but permanently and it will all be worth it.
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 7v1-10 'Getting your just deserts?'
We live in a society that is all about earning. All about deserving something. You do this you get that, you don't do it you don't deserve it, you shouldn't get it. That idea surrounds us all day. You get what you pay for. Your performance is appraised and rewarded or not and so on.
Verse 4-5 are fascinating. The Centurion's servant is ill and he is highly valued so the Centurion prevails on the Jewish elders of Capernaum to go to see Jesus on his behalf. Here's what they say to Jesus "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." It's easy to see the way they think isn't it - he deserves it, he is worthy of this healing because of what he has done. Interestingly Luke records Jesus went with them.
But what happens next shows us that is not the attitude of the Centurion, while Jesus is still some way off he sends friends who say "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed." How different the attitude of the Centurion. He doesn't claim he is worthy of this, he says he isn't even worthy to come to see Jesus himself. But if Jesus just says the word his servant will be healed. It is no wonder Jesus exclaims he hasn't even found faith like this in Israel.
This man is humble, he sees himself as unworthy, undeserving of an audience with Jesus let alone deserving of a miracle on his behalf. And he asks Jesus to be merciful and trusts in his power even at a distance. And Jesus is both merciful as he heals them man and powerful as he does so immediately and remotely.
This account challenges our expectations, our culturally moulded ways of thinking. We do not deserve to come into Jesus presence, let alone be so loved by him that he dies in our place for our sins. We are not worthy of being redeemed and adopted by him and yet that is what we are by grace. How can we, given the grace and mercy we are shown, be anything but humble in the way we treat others? How can we be anything but loving and gracious and merciful in the way we respond to them? And how can we be but grateful and thankful to the one who did all this so us when we were his enemies?
Verse 4-5 are fascinating. The Centurion's servant is ill and he is highly valued so the Centurion prevails on the Jewish elders of Capernaum to go to see Jesus on his behalf. Here's what they say to Jesus "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." It's easy to see the way they think isn't it - he deserves it, he is worthy of this healing because of what he has done. Interestingly Luke records Jesus went with them.
But what happens next shows us that is not the attitude of the Centurion, while Jesus is still some way off he sends friends who say "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed." How different the attitude of the Centurion. He doesn't claim he is worthy of this, he says he isn't even worthy to come to see Jesus himself. But if Jesus just says the word his servant will be healed. It is no wonder Jesus exclaims he hasn't even found faith like this in Israel.
This man is humble, he sees himself as unworthy, undeserving of an audience with Jesus let alone deserving of a miracle on his behalf. And he asks Jesus to be merciful and trusts in his power even at a distance. And Jesus is both merciful as he heals them man and powerful as he does so immediately and remotely.
This account challenges our expectations, our culturally moulded ways of thinking. We do not deserve to come into Jesus presence, let alone be so loved by him that he dies in our place for our sins. We are not worthy of being redeemed and adopted by him and yet that is what we are by grace. How can we, given the grace and mercy we are shown, be anything but humble in the way we treat others? How can we be anything but loving and gracious and merciful in the way we respond to them? And how can we be but grateful and thankful to the one who did all this so us when we were his enemies?
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 6v46-49 'On Rocky Ground'
What difference are Jesus words making in your life? That's the question that Jesus sets before the crowd, because if you listen to them and act on them and live by them they will make all the difference.
Jesus gives two pictures again of two men building, notice that both men listen or hear, what is the difference between them? It is what they do with Jesus words, whether they put them into practice, whether his words become what they build their lives on that matters. (46) Is the key issue, Jesus is explaining what it means to call him Lord, or what it looks like to call him Lord. To call him Lord means that his words become the foundation for the way we live.
Levi is a great example, what impact do Jesus words have on him? He got up, left everything and followed Jesus. It is the same for Peter, James and John, Jesus says follow me, be fishers of men and they do it.
Luke has been showing Theophilus that Jesus is God the Son, he speaks God’s words with God’s authority, he brings and declares the kingdom of God is here. To call him Lord means to accept his authority; that he now deserves our obedience to his words because of what he has done for us on the cross. Jesus is Lord of all or not at all.
If Jesus is Lord it will mean we take what he has just said seriously. It means loving the person who has rejected or persecuted us in the work place, it means not standing on our rights but loving a person in need of God.
To call Jesus Lord means to act on Jesus call to a love that trumps that of the world; that impacts our will, decisions, actions, and wallets. That loves lavishly without thought or chance of return. To call Jesus Lord means there is no one we write off with the gospel, it means sharing it, loving, engaging with the homeless, the drug addict, the prostitute, the single mum, the refugee, the immigrant, because we see them as God sees them.
To call Jesus Lord means I evaluate myself, dealing with my own prejudices and sins before lovingly seeking to help others. To call Jesus Lord means grace will spill out of my life, it means Jesus words set the tone and pattern of my thoughts and actions. Is Jesus Lord?
This passage takes for granted that we are hearing Jesus words, can I ask is that the first thing you need to sort out. To be reading the Bible daily, after all you can’t put it into action without hearing it. Maybe you want some help, why not ask someone if you can chat about what you’ve read on a Sunday morning over coffee before hand, maybe agree to read the same readings, or use the same notes so it helps with that. Maybe you want to study the Bible with others why not join a home group. Maybe you want to make Sunday mornings teaching live a little longer why not listen to the MP3 and/or discuss it over coffee or lunch afterwards.
None of us are perfect, none of us have this sorted. But as we come across Jesus words the disciple will seek with God’s help to ask for forgiveness and to repent – to change on the basis of what God reveals.
What will you do as a result of Jesus words? Are we prepared to examine ourself in the light of his words? Maybe this morning we need to confess to wrong attitudes or actions, or that we say Jesus is Lord but there are areas where we are holding back. Jesus stands ready to forgive, he has already paid for it and cried out “Father forgive them.” We just need to ask and the repent, put his words into action with the help of his Spirit.
Jesus gives two pictures again of two men building, notice that both men listen or hear, what is the difference between them? It is what they do with Jesus words, whether they put them into practice, whether his words become what they build their lives on that matters. (46) Is the key issue, Jesus is explaining what it means to call him Lord, or what it looks like to call him Lord. To call him Lord means that his words become the foundation for the way we live.
Levi is a great example, what impact do Jesus words have on him? He got up, left everything and followed Jesus. It is the same for Peter, James and John, Jesus says follow me, be fishers of men and they do it.
Luke has been showing Theophilus that Jesus is God the Son, he speaks God’s words with God’s authority, he brings and declares the kingdom of God is here. To call him Lord means to accept his authority; that he now deserves our obedience to his words because of what he has done for us on the cross. Jesus is Lord of all or not at all.
If Jesus is Lord it will mean we take what he has just said seriously. It means loving the person who has rejected or persecuted us in the work place, it means not standing on our rights but loving a person in need of God.
To call Jesus Lord means to act on Jesus call to a love that trumps that of the world; that impacts our will, decisions, actions, and wallets. That loves lavishly without thought or chance of return. To call Jesus Lord means there is no one we write off with the gospel, it means sharing it, loving, engaging with the homeless, the drug addict, the prostitute, the single mum, the refugee, the immigrant, because we see them as God sees them.
To call Jesus Lord means I evaluate myself, dealing with my own prejudices and sins before lovingly seeking to help others. To call Jesus Lord means grace will spill out of my life, it means Jesus words set the tone and pattern of my thoughts and actions. Is Jesus Lord?
This passage takes for granted that we are hearing Jesus words, can I ask is that the first thing you need to sort out. To be reading the Bible daily, after all you can’t put it into action without hearing it. Maybe you want some help, why not ask someone if you can chat about what you’ve read on a Sunday morning over coffee before hand, maybe agree to read the same readings, or use the same notes so it helps with that. Maybe you want to study the Bible with others why not join a home group. Maybe you want to make Sunday mornings teaching live a little longer why not listen to the MP3 and/or discuss it over coffee or lunch afterwards.
None of us are perfect, none of us have this sorted. But as we come across Jesus words the disciple will seek with God’s help to ask for forgiveness and to repent – to change on the basis of what God reveals.
What will you do as a result of Jesus words? Are we prepared to examine ourself in the light of his words? Maybe this morning we need to confess to wrong attitudes or actions, or that we say Jesus is Lord but there are areas where we are holding back. Jesus stands ready to forgive, he has already paid for it and cried out “Father forgive them.” We just need to ask and the repent, put his words into action with the help of his Spirit.
Sunday, 22 November 2015
Daily Reading: Acts 12 'Expecting God to answer?'
It's one of my favourite moments in the whole of the bible, v13-14 record the arrival of an angelically rescued Peter at the house where the church was holding it's prayer meeting interceding with God on Peter's behalf. He knocks on the door and Rhoda opens it, what happens next reads almost like a comedy sketch, you can imagine her eyes going wide as she sees Peter and then leaves him stood at the gate as she runs in and tells the others that peter is stood at the gate. But before we are too harsh on Rhoda she is not the only one who finds it hard to believe that miraculous way God has answered their prayers.
Peter himself struggles to believe it (v9) Peter assume he is seeing a vision and it's only in verse 11 that "When Peter came to himself he said "Now I am sure that they has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting." Then he goes to the house of Mary. Peter as he seeing the angel and obey his call to get up and walks past dozing guards assumes its a vision not reality. And the early church are as incredulous as Rhoda is, what is their response (15) "You are out of your mind... and they kept saying it is his angel!"
We expect the soldiers an the Jewish leaders and Herod to be amazed but in this passage ewe see that the church is amazed too. They have been praying but don't seemed to have expected this answer. It's another reminder that God rules. It's a spur to pray. And it convicts me because too often I am just like them in my lack of expectancy when I pray. God rules, he reigns, he acts. Whilst his answer may not always be as we want, as James martyrdom shows, we are still to pray and expect to see answers. Certainly when we see the answer standing there right in front of us we mustn't write it off as coincidence but praise God for his gracious answer to his people's prayers.
Peter himself struggles to believe it (v9) Peter assume he is seeing a vision and it's only in verse 11 that "When Peter came to himself he said "Now I am sure that they has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting." Then he goes to the house of Mary. Peter as he seeing the angel and obey his call to get up and walks past dozing guards assumes its a vision not reality. And the early church are as incredulous as Rhoda is, what is their response (15) "You are out of your mind... and they kept saying it is his angel!"
We expect the soldiers an the Jewish leaders and Herod to be amazed but in this passage ewe see that the church is amazed too. They have been praying but don't seemed to have expected this answer. It's another reminder that God rules. It's a spur to pray. And it convicts me because too often I am just like them in my lack of expectancy when I pray. God rules, he reigns, he acts. Whilst his answer may not always be as we want, as James martyrdom shows, we are still to pray and expect to see answers. Certainly when we see the answer standing there right in front of us we mustn't write it off as coincidence but praise God for his gracious answer to his people's prayers.
Saturday, 21 November 2015
Daily Reading: Acts 12 'Prison Break'
I can't help but wonder how the Apostles felt throughout the events on Acts 8-12. The initial growth of the gospel in Jerusalem had been explosive, but with persecution the church has been scattered across Judea and Samaria and the gospel growth there has been dramatic. Now in chapter 12 the focus shifts back to Jerusalem and we see that the Apostles now face persecution, a significant shift from Acts 8. Now it's not the religious leaders leading the persecution it's Herod, pursuing and persecuting and even execution some of the churches leaders because it wins him favour with the Jews(2).
So Peter finds himself imprisoned and on death row, no doubt knowing exactly what happened to James the brother of John. I wonder what he thought about as he sat in his jail cell. I wonder if his mind wandered back to his reinstatement by Jesus when he was told that when he was old another would lead him where he did not want to go. Did he wonder if this was it or if he was secure in trusting he would live? The key detail we're told is (5) "so Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to Go by the church." Where is the power in v1-5? It looks v4 humanly speaking as if it is with Herod; he seized Peter, put him in prison, delivered him, had him guarded by 4 squads of soldiers, he keeps him in prison. But the power is really seen in verse 5 as the Church approach and pray to God, the almighty, the king of kings, before whom Herod is less that dust on the scales.
We are shown again that though it looks to earthly eyes as if Herod has the power really the church have access to the sovereign ruling mighty God, the one who is all powerful. It ought to spur me on to pray. We are, in Jesus invited, to come to God the almighty sovereign ruler of all not as subjects grovelling hoping to persuade him to hear us but as our Father. We are heard by God because of Jesus, and there we have access to the real power in the universe.
Friday, 20 November 2015
Daily Reading: Luke 6v39-42 'Speck Spotting!'
"39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye’, when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye."
One of the results of our being part of a culture that fears judgement and challenges the right to judge is that we as Christians are fearful of helping others deal with their sin because we think we might be seen to be judging them. But the challenge of Jesus teaching here is that we are sometimes blind to our own faults whilst assuming we see perfectly the faults of others. Disciples are not fully trained in that we are not exactly like Jesus, we will be imperfect and therefore we must be careful to humbly be examining ourselves rather than simple judging others.
But here is what Jesus is not saying. Jesus is not saying that we never help other believers deal with the speck in their eye. Rather he emphasis is on us first examining ourselves and dealing with our sin, the plank, humbly and in repentance and confession before you look at others and seek to help them deal with the sin you see. Jesus is calling his followers to avoid hypocrisy - critiquing others for faults that go undiscerned, unchallenged and unchanged in us. The challenge isn't not to help others with sin, rather it is to be dealing with our own sin first.
What does that mean for us? It helpfully calls us to be examining ourselves. Do I know where my weaknesses are? Do I know where I am most sinful? What am I doing about it? Am I mourning over my sin, confessing it, repenting of it and changing? It also calls us to avoid being critical of others, we are not judge them in a negative sense, rather given we are dealing with our own sin, removing the plank, we are then called not to judgement and critique our brothers and sisters but to lovingly help them fight sin in themselves with the same resources we have used - the gospel, grace, prayer, confession, repentance and the joy that comes from sin forgiven and life by the Spirit.
Can you imagine the benefits a church where that was happening regularly would reap? Can you imagine the fruitfulness and joy that we would experience? Ask God to help you begin today by repenting of our being quick to critique, and to reveal sin in your life - don't expect it to be anything less than painful. But thank God that in Christ by the Spirit you have everything you need.
One of the results of our being part of a culture that fears judgement and challenges the right to judge is that we as Christians are fearful of helping others deal with their sin because we think we might be seen to be judging them. But the challenge of Jesus teaching here is that we are sometimes blind to our own faults whilst assuming we see perfectly the faults of others. Disciples are not fully trained in that we are not exactly like Jesus, we will be imperfect and therefore we must be careful to humbly be examining ourselves rather than simple judging others.
But here is what Jesus is not saying. Jesus is not saying that we never help other believers deal with the speck in their eye. Rather he emphasis is on us first examining ourselves and dealing with our sin, the plank, humbly and in repentance and confession before you look at others and seek to help them deal with the sin you see. Jesus is calling his followers to avoid hypocrisy - critiquing others for faults that go undiscerned, unchallenged and unchanged in us. The challenge isn't not to help others with sin, rather it is to be dealing with our own sin first.
What does that mean for us? It helpfully calls us to be examining ourselves. Do I know where my weaknesses are? Do I know where I am most sinful? What am I doing about it? Am I mourning over my sin, confessing it, repenting of it and changing? It also calls us to avoid being critical of others, we are not judge them in a negative sense, rather given we are dealing with our own sin, removing the plank, we are then called not to judgement and critique our brothers and sisters but to lovingly help them fight sin in themselves with the same resources we have used - the gospel, grace, prayer, confession, repentance and the joy that comes from sin forgiven and life by the Spirit.
Can you imagine the benefits a church where that was happening regularly would reap? Can you imagine the fruitfulness and joy that we would experience? Ask God to help you begin today by repenting of our being quick to critique, and to reveal sin in your life - don't expect it to be anything less than painful. But thank God that in Christ by the Spirit you have everything you need.
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