Category Archives: freedom

Doing God’s will..

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“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work…”

(Jn 4.34)

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified…. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.”

(Jn 12.23-26)

Jesus took the twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.

(Lk 18.31)

Therefore my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

(1Cor 15.58)

Then they asked [Jesus], “What must we do to do the works that God requires? Jesus answered, “The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent.”

(Jn 6.28-29)

All four gospel narratives clearly reveal a man on a mission: Jesus knew from his early years that he had a particular task to fulfill, and when he finally embarked upon his earthly ministry, he spoke again and again of his ‘work’. We see that this work was to announce the kingdom of God, and ultimately to suffer, die and rise again in order to inaugurate that kingdom and defeat the evil power which until then had held all humankind in bondage.

Within this context however, we also see a man whose days appear to drift by with little structure, and who was continually responding to ‘interruptions’ and unforseen circumstances. How do we reconcile this with the idea of doing God’s work? Perhaps the answer lies in a different understanding of what it is to live for God in this world? Jesus knew exactly who he was, and why he was here. Jesus identity was secure and his purpose inflexible, and he knew that God would fulfill that purpose in his (God’s) good time. Within that overarching direction however, there was a sense of freedom and an expectation that each day would bring exactly what God planned across Jesus’ path. What looked to his disciples like unfortunate distractions and delays were met in Jesus with a peaceful, focussed attention – he believed that God was working in all the circumstances, and was ready to be used in any way that his Father ordained.

Is this not a liberating principle that we can also apply to our lives? As followers of Jesus, the Way, we look to his example and direction for our lives. We see that God has an overarching purpose for us – to believe in the one whom God has sent, that is, Jesus – and we trust that his power within is sufficient to enable us to do that until we are taken home and made new. Within that purpose, each of us has different callings at different seasons of life – a job, a family, a hobby which uses God’s gifting to us and celebrates his goodness – and in each of these, we must believe in Jesus. That is, we must live in those situations and activities as redeemed sinners, with an overflowing abundance of love to share in God’s name for people who need to hear it. ‘Belief’ which does not affect how we live is not belief, it is only a theory or casual notion which we can ignore when it suits us. If we claim to believe in the one whom God sent, and yet will not bear witness by our words and deeds, by the way we use our resources, and the choices we make, then we do not believe in the way Christ calls us to.

I am excited to think that my life as a believer is not a matter of rigid scheduling of ‘religious’ activities, but is a pattern woven by my Father according to his purposes, where he asks for my yielding, my desire to be attuned to his promptings, my availability to be ‘interrupted’ and to recognise in the smallest event some sign that God is at work and asking me to share it.

Heavenly Father, thank you that while you ask me to be prudent and to steward the hours and days, the strength and resources you give me, yet you also call me to hold all my schemes and plans lightly, recognising your authority over my life, and your place as the great weaver by whose skill your kingdom is being built and all things are working together for your plans. Today I release my life afresh into your keeping and for your directing. Let me meet what you send with the strength you will supply, and with glad confidence that you are working through all that comes. In the name of Jesus, who showed me what this looks like, Amen.

Am I calling God a liar?

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“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws,, you will be my people and I will be your God.”

(Ez 36.25-28)

Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say…’The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing’

(Zeph 3.15-17)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

(1 Pet 2.9)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight… In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

(Eph 1.3,4&8,9)

As Jesus-believers, we are warned not to think too much of ourselves, to be wary of arrogance, false pride, a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude to our neighbours. The whole thrust of the gospel is that of ourselves, we are helpless and dead in our sins, and it is only God’s grace which can deliver and transform us – we have nothing to boast about for ourselves! Rather, our boast is in our Lord and Saviour, in his power, and beauty and love and sacrifice. BUT, there is a place for a proper pride, a genuine assurance in who we are as God’s beloved children, and that is what I want to think about today.

The word of God is absolutely emphatic in its description of those who are saved by faith – we are now alive with divine life; we are purified by the blood of Jesus; we are God’s priestly people, and have free access into His holy presence. We are beloved, accepted, rejoiced over with singing – all the time and forevermore. It may not look like it to the watching world, but our glory is – like Christ’s – hidden from their eyes until his return when it will be revealed in full. We are as believers what God always intended us to be, and we must never be ashamed of that, nor misrepresent it. What God has called good, we must not dishonour by calling bad, shameful or unworthy.

Our awareness of the sin which will persist until we die must not be allowed to overshadow the reality of what grace has done in our lives, and of what God says is true about us. If I insist on dwelling on and bemoaning sin – which God has completely forgiven in Christ – then I am turning my back on God’s grace and insulting him. He does not continually condemn his children, why should we do so? A false humility, an insistence on our unworthiness and refusal to recognise what Christ has accomplished for us is not a good witness. It is a trap of the evil one, a false self-righteousness, when we refuse to live in the joyous freedom of those whose sins are completely forgiven. Yes, we are sinners, BUT we are forgiven and reborn into new life, and to deny this by living with an attitude of resigned embattling against sin is to call our God a liar, to deny the completeness of Christ’s work on the cross. May we be spared such shameful folly!

Almighty God, Holy and Good and altogether worthy of all praise, I thank you today for the power of Christ to save, to re-birth and make new. I rejoice in what you tell me is true about myself as your beloved child; I accept your word as the only real source of truth and stand proudly as your daughter, a royal princess and priestess of the good news. O let me never dishonour or misrepresent your grace by failing to live in the freedom which that blood won for me on the cross! For the glory of Jesus my Lord, Amen.

Not make-believe… truth

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Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life – no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: if we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection.

We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time – remember you’ve been raised from the dead! – into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

(Rom 6.6-14, the Message)

God brought you alive – right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant cancelled and nailed to Christ’s cross. So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it….. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life – even though invisible to spectators – is with Christ in God. He is your life.

(Col 2.13&14; 3.1,3&4)

Isn’t it weird, how the same words which have been spoken to or read by you for years can suddenly become illuminated with new meaning?! These past months have found me experiencing the personal equivalent of shifting tectonic plates, as my understanding of a particular and key aspect of faith has changed.

It has taken years for me to get to this place, a place where I really know just what it is that I have not understood, and can see clearly the problems that stem directly from that failure. I have prayed and talked, and God in his mercy has directed me through so many different  things – books, recorded sermons, public worship and confession, and above all through the study of his word, particularly in Colossians. I didn’t know it at the time, but this book has been absolutely the right one for me just now!

I am rejoicing in a new sense of who I am as a believer – of the difference that it makes to accept Jesus as Lord of my life. I now more fully grasp what it is to be ‘in Christ’, to be a partaker through him in the divine life and a channel for divine power and love to reach this broken and needy world.

It is not merely make-believe to think of myself as a beloved daughter of the Almighty, it is the truth. It is not a case of pretending something until it becomes real, but a case of stepping confidently into a new reality and then living it out to my fullest capacity. When my heavenly Father looks at me, he doesn’t have to pretend that I am acceptable, doesn’t have to pretend that I am beautiful and pure. It.. is.. the truth, the fact, the reality. How marvellous is that!!

Heavenly Father, I thank and praise you for you have rescued me from darkness into light and liberty in Christ Jesus. I praise and exalt my Saviour, who is the source, the foundation of faith and whose redeeming love for me has won my freedom and established your kingdom. I praise Jesus Christ as the object of faith – all that I hope for, all that I depend on is in him and therefore it is only by faith in him that I can live. He is the author and also the perfecter of faith; he is its beginning and its end. O let me continue to work out in my life what it means that for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain!

Let me learn to love my Saviour more, to enthrone him in my life, to worship him and truly to live in all the riches which he has won for me, and which are my inheritance in him. O Lord, teach me! In the name and for the sake of my Lord Jesus, Amen.

Abundant living…

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‘But this is my word’, Jesus continued ,’for those of you who are listening: love your enemies! Do good to people who hate you! Bless people who curse you! Pray for people who treat you badly… Whatever you want people to do to you, do that to them. If you love those who love you, what’s special about that?… No: love your enemies, do good and lend without expecting any return. Your reward will be great! You will be children of the Highest! He is generous, you see, to the stingy and the wicked. You must be merciful, just as your father is merciful. Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you’ll be forgiven. Give, and it will be given you: a good helping, squashed down, shaken in, and overflowing – that’s what will land in your lap. Yes: the ration you give to others is the ration you’ll get back for yourself.’

(Lk 6.27-38: NT Wright translation, 2001)

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. .. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge, I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

(Rom 12. 17-21)

Jesus came to usher in the ‘age to come’, the kingdom of God unveiled in the heart of a kingdom ruled by the powers of this age, where humankind had been held in bondage, enslaved and unable to fulfil the role for which we were created – to live for and with our God, stewards of his creation and bearing his image. From the outset of his ministry, Jesus consistently overturned expectations about what God was like, and what it looked like to honour, and live in freedom with him.

The religious leaders of Judaism in his day were trying to bring in God’s kingdom by tighter and tighter adherence to the law, laying a huge burden on the people to get it right. Instead of this, Jesus came like a tornado of fresh air, light and boundary-breaking! Jesus said that if our hearts were right with God – in humble repentance, and joyful depending faith – then we had entered the kingdom of God, it was among us and we were loved and secured by God in his family. Jesus set aside the legal observances, turning the spotlight on the heart, and asking – “do you love and trust me above all these rules; above your racial purity; above your wealth and status in Israel?” Jesus came and poured out God’s love unstintingly, with a breathtaking abandon and – in the eyes of the Pharisees and teachers of the law – a reckless disregard for tradition! And time after time, Jesus called those who believed in him to live as he did – because this recklessly generous life reflects the heart of our God, the love which held nothing back when it came to doing for us what we desperately need and cannot do for ourselves.

Do I believe that God is astonishingly merciful? Well, yes I do, because he reached me and rescued me, and continues to seek out those like me who have done nothing to deserve his favour. Do I see God’s provision of sun and rain, day and night, for every human being on the planet? Yes, I do! He does not grudge us the good gifts we receive, and more than that, He chooses to show grace and love even to those who persist in dishonouring and grieving his holy, loving heart.

As I contemplate the way that God’s kingdom generosity pours out from Jesus, I am challenged to consider my own attitudes and behaviour: do I consistently choose to love, to give, to rejoice and live in the light, no matter what happens to me? Am I grudging or giving with gladness? Which attitude honours the God who gave his son for me? Which way of living will rightly mirror the God whose grace is amazing, and whose goodness is readily shown to those who reject him?

O Lord, God of heaven, in your mercy work in me that I might live to honour you by living abundantly, generously, giving as you give, forgiving and eager to do good that others might thrive. Show me what I have to spend in this way – my words, my time, my love… Show me where I am miserly, fearful and indifferent – release me to live for you, showing me what it looks like here and now to be like my Father in heaven. Let me follow my Saviour in a life of selfless love, that you might be glorified and lives transformed. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Hope in the face of despair

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‘Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord, You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth, and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

You are the Lord God, who chose Abram.. You found his heart faithful.. and you made a covenant with him. You have kept your promise because you are righteous. You saw the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt.. You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them.. laws that are just and right…. but they became arrogant and stiff-necked,.. they refused to listen.. but you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, Therefore, you did not desert them..

You gave your good Spirit to instruct them.. You gave them kingdoms and nations.. they revelled in your goodness. But they were disobedient and rebelled against you.. They killed your prophets who had warned them to turn back to you.. You warned them in order to turn them back to your law, but they became arrogant… For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them.. yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighbouring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them.. for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty and awesome, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all [our]hardship seem trifling in your eyes… In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly…. but see, we are slaves today..’

(Neh 9. extracts between v 5&37)

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” but the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God”, he said,” since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you , today you will be with me in paradise.”

(Lk 23.39-43)

For in my inner being, I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

(Rom 7.22-25)

The truth is that we are broken; our history is littered with things of which we are ashamed and we let ourselves and others down all the time. It is uncomfortable to acknowledge that we are powerless to change the situation, not least because we are the problem – is there then no hope? Humanly speaking, the evidence from history is that even with all our advancing sophistication and knowledge, our capacity to wound, destroy, distort, damage and pollute remains undiminished – even though we claim to know what is good, we cannot do it.

The people of Israel, responding to the Law, confessed their own rebellion, both historic and recent. They recognised the fatal weaknesses which made them incapable of keeping their covenant with God.. their only hope is in the character of the Lord their faithful God, and they simply beg for mercy.

So also the criminal hanging in agony beside Jesus, who made confession of his sin and did not try to justify himself but asked for mercy, by that very act confessing that in Jesus, he recognised the One who had power to deliver, to set free, to make new – the promised Messiah.

And the great apostle, in his wrestling with the deep roots of the glorious gospel which he proclaims, reminds his readers that no amount of zeal for the law and for God’s glory ever enabled a person to overcome their bond to sin – even in his most devoted days as a Pharisee, Paul had known this struggle. BUT now he is set free from that power, and it no longer rules him – he is no longer a slave to sin, but a slave to love and what a transformation that brings!

This is the power of the cross, sealed and delivered as Jesus rose again triumphant over the powers of this world, leading his people into freedom from slavery to the corrupting weakness of sin, and crucially, empowering them by his spirit to live in that freedom.

In the face of our own sins – past and present – we can have hope, because our God is merciful, loving and compassionate. We are forgiven, we have the Spirit within us and new hearts pumping with the love of God, hearts free to choose obedience, loving worship and devotion, hearts which though still overshadowed by human weakness, are no longer bound to fall into rebellion. Our sin is no longer fatal, but a reminder of how much we need to cling to Jesus and trust in his love and saving work on our behalf.

Take courage friends, you are not defined by your past, or even your present, but by the love which claimed you triumphantly on Good Friday, and brought you eternally into the kingdom which one day will be unveiled before all creation – your hope is secure and Jesus has won!

On being a coward…

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The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said… do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary…

(Isa 8.11-13)

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

(1 Pet 3.15&16)

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..

(Rom 1.16)

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders, make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

(Col 4.2-6)

On so many levels, I am a coward… the story in my family as I grew up was that my first words were, “oh dear!”, doubtless expressing regret over some misdemeanour, and that has been my default setting ever since: to be the first to apologise, to apologise first and then afterwards work out what actually happened, to assume that I am in the wrong. Because so often I am! I have a deep rooted fear of doing the wrong thing, making the wrong choices, following the wrong advice and consequently messing up not only my situation, but the lives and situations of others too….

One might be generous, and call it a tender conscience.. I call it a drawback and a weakness, a hindrance to confident living as a child of God, and a form of disobedience too since it implies doubt over God’s capacity to direct me, and his grace to deal with my shortcomings. It means that I lean on the decisions of others more than I should, to direct me and set the pattern for my life; it means that I am plain terrified of making big life choices and of holding any position of responsibility whatsoever.

I say these things not because I am proud of them, nor because I want pity, but because I am at the moment acutely aware of them, and of their impact on how I am living for God in this place where we have a few short weeks remaining to us. I am the believer who shrinks from talking about the gospel because I am afraid of what the reaction of others will be; I am afraid that I can’t answer the difficult questions; I am afraid to cause offence and somehow drive people further away from Jesus.

It is easy to avoid taking the small openings for faith conversations that come my way, and then justify my failure. But the Lord knows the truth, and sees that my fear of the wrong things is holding me from obedience, faithful witness and the sowing of seeds in his name. Of what possible use is the messenger who baulks at speaking the most important part of the message with which they are entrusted?! Do I not love these folk enough to share the most important things in the world with them – the demonstration of love, the holiness of God and the offer of salvation through Jesus?

I don’t think we can accuse the great apostle Paul of being afraid to speak the truth, yet even he asked his friends to pray for him – for opportunities to speak, and for boldness, wisdom and grace to take and use those opportunities to plant kingdom seeds. So let me follow his example, and recognise the challenge and also the right way of dealing with it…

Almighty God, King above all kings, throned in splendour and light, in holiness and power beyond my imagination; I worship you today and confess my weakness and my fears. Thank you that you understand how I am made, that it is your will and purpose to make me useful in your kingdom, and that therefore you will surely enable me to speak for you when opportunity arises. Set me free from fearing anything except you; set me free to care only about pleasing you, loving those to whom you have sent me and making all that I am available to be useful according to your will. As you transform me, make me ever more Christ-centred, free to live boldly because you are my sanctuary and my glory. In the name of Jesus, my Lord, and for his glory, Amen.

Chewing it over…and over..

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Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.

(Ps 1.1-3)

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, for the display of his splendour.

(Isa 61.1-3)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

(Gal 1.3-5)

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom… the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving; considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

(Jas 3.13,17&18)

It is always good to remind ourselves of what the scriptures say is true about us, to choose to let God’s words be the basis on which we evaluate not only what is going on around us but also what weight to give our own thoughts – those constant companions which colour our actions and words.

When I feel that I am astray in this present evil age, weak and wayward, I recall that Christ has died to rescue me – and that he succeeded! The resurrection proves that my debt is paid, and I am free from the powers which so cruelly dominate our world. As one of his ransomed and precious children, I have total security in my Saviour’s work, and in the place to which God is leading me is called home. 

The work of Jesus is completely sufficient, and not only am I rescued, but also transformed. For the dust and ashes, the rags and tatters of human brokenness, I receive a crown; beauty for brokenness, rich royal robes fitted for a princess. And these are mine not to cover up shameful secrets, to deceive God as if He could be fooled. Rather, these are now my proper possession as His child. I am a new creation, a beloved, beautiful God-delighting daughter, and all that He bestows on me now is simply my birthright – all because of Jesus.

This is wisdom then; to chew over these truths again, and again. Choosing to make them the basis on which I face each fresh challenge and stage of life. Choosing to live as though they were and are and always will be true, so that more and more my thoughts follow God’s thoughts about me, and I have that never failing stream of renewing, nourishing life flowing through me. 

I am planted by the Lord, to bear witness to his glory and power and righteousness as the One who keeps his promises and does all things well. I am not here because of an accident, but by His design and to fulfill his purposes. What keeps me anchored here is the life which is flowing – by the spirit in me – from his grace and inexhaustible love. As I meditate on the truth, his truth, my roots go deeper and hold more strongly, and my surroundings matter less. I can, and must, ground and nourish myself in this heavenly wisdom, trusting that it will bear fruit in my life for God’s glory and the blessing of those around me.  Trees don’t actively decide to bear fruit… it happens because they are healthy trees. May I remember that next time I am fretting over the apparent fruitlessness of my life, and trust that while it may not be obvious to me, yet my heavenly Father will be satisfied that this particular bit of his planting is doing just what he planned it should!

Sulky exiles, or responsible citizens?

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This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile..:”Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce…Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

(Jer 29.4,5&7)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God…You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(Matt 5.9,43-45&48)

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

(1Tim 2.1&2)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right…..Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the King.

(1Pet 2.13,14,16&17)

As followers of Jesus, redeemed children of God, we often think of ourselves as exiles in this world, of people whose real home is not here, not in this place of darkness, pain and evil. We rightly think with joy on the prospect of a life to come, when we shall be free of sin- in our own lives as well as those of others- and when the new creation will be our glorious dwelling place, all as God intended and designed it for us.

But the words of the prophet Jeremiah to the exiled Jews in Babylon give a clear instruction for God’s people in that situation – get stuck in, be involved, care about your community, be constructive and positive and be at home there. It may not be your ‘forever’ home, but it is the place of God’s calling for this time, and his plan is that through your presence, it might be blessed. There is no distinction between seeking God’s will for their lives and seeking God’s will for the place where they are living, no need to choose which should be their  focus.

I believe that this is also a word to us in our time, uncomfortable though it is for followers of Jesus as our culture increasingly rejects him and the truth he stands for. God has placed us here for this time, with all the opportunities and abilities chosen and crafted for us by his plan to bless us and through us the communities of which we are part. Will we be enthusiastic in our place of exile? Or will we sulk and withdraw into holy huddles, bemoaning our situation and withholding our gifts and presence from those around us?

Our challenge then is to be fully invested in our communities, supportive and active, without falling into the patterns of thought and behaviour which may characterise that community. To be Jesus followers is to be peacemakers, to be those who refuse to believe the worst; who chose to respect those with whom they disagree; who choose to love, not demean their critics and who will pray for all as those created – like us- in God’s image and precious in his sight.

In this week of elections to the Scottish Parliament, the need for respect, truth-telling, love and humility are obvious. We may not always find these qualities in our politicians, but we must always pray for God to be at work through them to bring the stability of our society, the welfare and compassionate care needed by so many, the equality and protection of dignity for the weakest, and even the freedom which allows people to disagree strongly. We pray in effect, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done” in our society, even through our imperfect politicians, and we play our part in supporting and respecting the institutions through which we enjoy the rule of law, the provision of public services, and the freedoms which so many in the world are denied.

I cannot do everything needful for the transformation of society, and indeed that will happen only when Jesus comes to make everything new. But in the meantime, I pray that I might learn to hear his voice and to obey his calling to live for him, and in doing so, to bless the place to which he has called me.

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Stand up, stand up…!

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In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man…You are my God, and I will give thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever.

(Ps 118.5-8,28)

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…

(Isa 61.1)

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

(Lk 13.10)

You are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus..It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

(Gal 3.26-28,5.1&13)

He finds me with my eyes fixed on the ground at my feet, looking for my reflection in the dirt as though there was nothing of value in me; avoiding eye contact so that I might not see the scorn, the rejection, the confirmation of my own worthlessness in the faces of others.

He finds me with my back doubled over under a burden of shame for past sin; for years of failing in love to others, a lifetime of rejecting his lordship of my life and wasting that precious gift in selfishness.

He finds me shrunk in upon myself, desperately protecting what remains of the vulnerable child who so longs to love and be loved, to live each day to the full and sleep without troubled dreams. In my extremity, I have put up so many defences against further pain, so many facades of indifference and independence, that I barely know anymore where the real person lies hidden.

He finds me….He, whose name is Love, seeks and finds me. He, whose name is Truth, knows my truth and sees past every defence to that weary and terrified child whom He loves so much. He, whose name is Life, touches me and speaks – and the Word whose power called forth the universes speaks life into this chaos and darkness.

And I find myself, slowly and astonishingly, raising not only my eyes, but my whole body so that I can look into the face of Truth, Life and Love and see there a profound delight and overflowing gladness that He has found me and we may know one another. How can this be? That holiness and power should choose to be allied to such frail flesh? I cannot understand the mystery of divine love, but I rejoice in the immeasurable riches which I receive through it, and praise the God who thus deals with his creatures.

Because He found me, I stand tall today. I stand fearless before God and man, since nothing can break the bond which binds me to my Lord, and all the evils which man might do ultimately are of no effect. I look the world in the eyes steadily, knowing that I am of priceless worth to God, and my status in this world is irrelevant to my standing with Him.

Because He found me, I stand free today. The burdens of guilt and sin are rolled away at the cross of Christ, and I am forgiven, fully and forever. There are no chains anymore to bind me to pursuit of peace by selfish indulgence, or by slavish observance. Nothing has any power over me except the love of Christ, and to obey Him is my fullest freedom.

I stand up today for Jesus Christ, not because He needs me to defend Him, but because I am so proud and thankful to be his beloved, redeemed and restored for life eternal. I stand up today for Jesus to be counted as His, a living testament to His grace, power and love. With the psalmist, I choose to say, “You are my God, and I will give thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever!”

Observation..or celebration?

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Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath..for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.

(Ex 20.9&11)

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

(Ps 27.4)

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.

(Ps 34.1-3)

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath..

(Matt 11.28;12.8)

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.

(Rom 14.5&6)

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you ear or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality however, is found in Christ.

(Col 2.16)

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no-one will fall..

(Heb 4.9-11)

One of the benefits of this strange time is the extra opportunity to learn from the bible, to think about what it means to live in a fallen world where I am called to witness and work for God’s glory and kingdom. It can be easy to let the preacher think for us, instead of learning in the life-changing way which comes by personally wrestling with the truth. There can be challenges, as the truth is not always obvious, perhaps not what we have always assumed it to be. But what riches are found when we put in the effort, as the whole of scripture begins to speak with a unified voice, all leading to Christ and glorifying him!

The idea of ‘rest’ is one of the unifying themes of scripture. Did you realise that from the very beginning, God designed us to dwell with him in a place where he had done all the work? That is what Eden and the first day of rest was all about. And with the Fall, that divine rest was lost to humankind – we are on a continual quest for it, unable to find it because ultimately until we are at peace with God again, we cannot rest.

The commandment to remember the seventh day (because on that day the Lord rested), was a call to lay aside all human labour, to recognise that God has made all things; is sustaining them, and ultimately only He will provide the rest for which they were designed. It was always meant to be a day pointing to God, to his great love and mercy, to his promise to save his people if they would only depend on him and not on themselves.

Jesus makes it clear that he came to fulfill the law, to offer the promised rest  in himself. This rest is founded on peace with God, and Christ alone as the perfect sacrifice could create that peace. As Lord of Sabbath, he proclaims himself the king of rest, the one with absolute power to introduce a new creation where his people could live in the reality of that ‘rest’-ored relationship with God. The old regulations about Sabbath observance were now redundant, because the promise or fore-shadowing of rest had been fulfilled in Christ.

When we enter God’s offered rest, in Christ, we in turn rest from our own works – all our attempts to gain salvation and peace through rule-keeping; rituals and rites. To turn again to rigid ‘sabbath observance’ is therefore a dangerous nonsense! I am free in Christ to celebrate every day as a gift from God, graced with forgiveness and the liberating truth that it is all by his work that I am saved and welcomed into the Sabbath-rest which is the heritage of God’s children.

I am free to especially mark a particular day in appropriate ways in order to focus on the rest which is mine in Christ – but I am not free to impose on others or to judge them for their choices. I am free to celebrate – and for many of us this will be on a day when we can meet with other believers, and take extra time to enjoy God’s good gifts, perhaps Sunday, but perhaps another day depending on our culture!

I am also free to serve, expecting nothing in return, because God is all in all to me, and has promised to care for me. And significantly, I am free to sacrifice – to forgo my expressions of freedom if they cause another to stumble in their faith.

I do not observe the Sabbath. I celebrate the day which the Lord has made; the salvation which he has won; the sure hope of eternal life with him which is mine; and the daily reality that – no matter what is happening to me, within me, and around me – I am at rest with God forever. I have peace, Thanks be to God!