Author: alibates (Page 6 of 7)

December 4^th

Isaiah 9:1-7

Following on from yesterday’s readings here we find Isaiah speaking to the situation where the north of Israel which includes Zebulun and Naphtali have been conquered by Assyria and the people are in darkness. But Isaiah’s prophesy speaks  hope to them, and he is so confident he speaks as though it has already happened. The Messiah will come like light bursting out in Galilee. Matthew in his gospel draws attention to the fact that the start of Jesus ministry is in this very region Matt. 4 :12-17.

The pain of verses four and five will resonate for many in our world right now; slavery, oppression and bloodshed were their experience. Jesus came to defeat our most awful enemy and destroy the forces of evil forever. The people of Israel are to be released from oppression, war will cease and the perfect ruler will arrive. Where darkness has fallen light has come.

In our times of distress we have to choose what we will believe in. Do we remember God’s past action on our behalf, or do we forget? The references in verse four are to the yoke of slavery in Egypt, and the day of Midian to their defeat of the enemy under Gideon’s leadership. These two events were the result of acts of faith and trust in God; something we saw yesterday that Ahaz didn’t want to do. The darkness and distress that we may experience in life are real, but they are not the whole story. Isaiah goes on to tell us that the answer to all of this is going to be a child, a son who is born of a woman but given to us by God.

This child is to be a wonderful counsellor, literally wonder-counsellor, wonder being akin to supernatural or out of the ordinary.

He is the mighty God, a hero come as the one who will defeat the enemy.

He is the everlasting Father. This may seem strange in reference to Jesus but we know that he comes to represent the Father to us, but also to act as a father to his children.

He is the Prince of peace, making peace through his blood

There will be no end to the increase of his government and peace, there will be order, there will be fairness and justice in this Kingdom forever.

And finally, we are told that it is the zeal of the Lord or his passionate commitment that will achieve these things. God’s plan in action.

Reflection

Take a moment to reflect on the four different titles Isaiah gives to Jesus. How have you experienced these in the past, and what might you need to experience at this time? Pray for yourself and others that you may know Jesus in all his fulness.

December 3^rd

Isaiah 7:14

There are a few Old Testament passages that are important to us as believers as they point us to Jesus. As we look at these verses we are in good company, even Jesus on the Emmaus Road started with Moses and the prophets to explain himself to his disciples!

In this passage Isaiah is speaking into his current context but in doing so, as a prophet, he also speaks into the future. So, let’s look for a moment at Isaiah’s situation. Syria and Israel have joined forces against Assyria’s empire building (735BC). They invite Ahaz, king of Judah, to join them but he refuses so they turn against him. Ahaz thinks he’s going to try and buy an alliance with Assyria, but Isaiah offers an alternative solution that Ahaz should trust the Lord and be firm in the faith. He is invited to ask for a sign from the Lord, but he doesn’t want to put his faith in God so he refuses in a rather sanctimonious fashion (Is. 7:11-12).

[We should note here that whether or not testing the Lord is OK depends on the heart. Israel in the wilderness tested the Lord out of unbelief and were judged for it. Gideon tested to be sure he heard right and was given his answer. Here Ahaz is being invited to trust but will not.]

So, Isaiah prophesies that God will give a sign. For Ahaz it means that by the time a young woman (we don’t know who) gives birth and the child reaches the age of discretion (13yrs) the two kingdoms against him will have gone (Is. 7:16). He just needs to trust. Syria was destroyed by 732BC (3 years later), Israel lost part of her territory a year later and in 13 years (722BC) had lost her national existence. Ahaz and Judah were to be overwhelmed by Assyria.

When Matthew was writing his gospel he saw in this passage a clear reference to the coming Messiah – the one who is ‘God with us’ Matt.1:23. The salvation needed here is not earthly but spiritual, our eternal salvation, and it was going to come through the child born of a virgin, the Son of God. There is a lot of dispute among theologians as to whether the word for ‘virgin’ should have been translated as such or as ‘young woman’. As far as I can see there is no reason not to accept the translation that Mathhew knew which referred to the ‘virgin who will conceive and give birth to a son’. This child was God’s son, one who would become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Matthew knew Mary and Jesus, witnessed the crucifixion and resurrection, and had no doubt who Jesus was and whose Son he was.

The call to us is the same as to Ahaz, to stand in faith, to receive God’s salvation and see his deliverance from sin; to be accepted into God’s Kingdom.

Reflection

There is the thread of a plan running through history so strong that it emerges out of the prophets’ mouth even when he is speaking into another circumstance. That plan for salvation runs through all our lives and we have a choice to respond to it in faith or not. Is there something that you need to respond to in faith today?

December 2^nd

Genesis 12:1-3

Once upon a time one man had a revelation of the God of the universe and chose to follow his leading. He wasn’t living in a monotheistic culture, and we have no idea how he came to this knowledge and experience of God; the Bible doesn’t tell us. Four thousand years ago, during the Bronze Age, Abraham decided to obey the call of God to leave his homeland and go to a new place God was giving him. His obedience brought with it a promise of land, descendants numerous enough to be a nation and a global reach. All the families of earth are to be blessed through this one man. This scripture is the first mention of a promise to be repeated many times at significant moments in Abraham’s life (Gen. 15:1,22:18, 26:4).

As we will read later both Joseph and Mary are direct descendants of Abraham and King David. This promise is about much more than just the formation of the peoples of Israel (through Isaac) and Palestine (through Ishmael), this is a promise to all of humanity. Abraham is a man of faith and obedience towards God. He understands that God is both sovereign and faithful, and Abrahms’s faith becomes the bedrock of this future blessing. It is cited by both Peter (Acts 3:25) and Paul (Gal. 3:8-9, 17-18) as the beginning of the promise.

We could go even further back to the beginning of creation and humanity’s fall into sin. In Gen. 3:15 God promises that the seed of woman will bruise the head of the serpent. Already there is a plan to deal with the devil, evil and sin’s consequences. That the serpent will bruise his heel hints at the cost of our salvation.

The Bible is clear that God’s word is dependable and will not fail; he will be faithful to his covenant for a thousand generations (Deut.7:9). Isaiah tells us that while everything around us may fade and die the word of the Lord stands forever (Is. 40:8). This plan to rescue humanity from its sin and make a way into the Kingdom of God has been there from the very beginning, slowly unfolding over thousands of years until we come to the revelation of God that we see in Jesus.

Reflection

Someone once said that God takes a long time to move suddenly! Are there moments in your own life where you have seen that work out? Perhaps there are events that you are waiting patiently to see happen. Why not bring them before God today, remembering that he is faithful to his word.

Introduction

Advent is a word that is used to describe the arrival of an event, an invention or a person. In the Christian calendar advent is the 24 days or 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas, a time of waiting and anticipation for the arrival of the Son of God. No doubt this time of expectation has already been filled with online and TV advertisements for all sorts of Christmas goodies that you couldn’t possibly do without, and supermarkets have been filled with foods to make your Christmas that bit more special. For the Christian, Christmas has a much deeper meaning that goes beyond the fripperies of a secular Christmas as we celebrate the arrival of one who is to become our Saviour and our Redeemer.

From the very beginning God had a plan for the salvation of humanity and that is where we will begin before going on to read how the story unfolds.

(The first 6 reflections are a bit longer than the rest, don’t panic they are not all that long!)

December 1^st

Galatians 4:4-7

Today’s reading tells us that in the fullness of time, or at the right time or the appointed time God sent his Son born of a woman, subject to the law to redeem us who are under the law. What made it the right time? The sociological view of this would highlight a number of reasons why it was the right time.

1. The Roman Empire has spread around the Mediterranean and we know that when the Romans moved in they built roads, very straight roads, and those roads facilitated travel. For the spread of the gospel this was incredibly useful.
2. Language. As people travelled further, and international commerce grew, Greek became the common language of business. From the point of view of spreading the gospel this makes life a lot easier, it also helps breaks the gospel free from Judaism and makes it more available to everyone.
3. There was a hunger for spiritual things. The belief in Greek and Roman gods and their mythology was losing its grip and people were searching for a God who could save them.
4. The Jewish law which was meant to be a positive aspect of Judaism had become a burden to many as it became more complicated and onerous as the years went by.

It was the right time, but there are also other reasons. Prophetically the Jews are looking for the promised Messiah, Daniel 9: 24-27 talks about the coming Messiah and suggests a date when this prophecy would be fulfilled, calculated to be sometime in the 1st century AD. Paul would have been aware of this prophecy and he, along with many others, would have been looking for the Messiah to arrive.

Jesus, the Son of God, comes to earth as a human being. He is subject to all the challenges that we face as human beings. He doesn’t stay at a distance. God is not distant; he makes himself imminent and he comes as flesh and blood amongst us. He is born of a woman and subject to the same laws (natural and religious) that we are. He lived under the Jewish Law, he understood it, but he also surpassed it. He was human and yet the perfect Son of God, the perfect lamb, the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

He came to redeem us from the slavery of sin and the Law in order that we could be ransomed from our slavery and be adopted as true children of God. There was hope at the time that the Messiah was coming but of course we know that it wasn’t going to happen as expected.

From the very beginning God had a plan to redeem and restore humanity back to that Eden relationship that was so dreadfully broken. That plan included you and me. Moreover, there isn’t just ‘a Plan’ there is also a unique plan for each of us.

‘There is a plan’….. this makes my heart sing. Whenever the current woes of our time get you down remember there is a plan for salvation now and into the future, when God will reconcile everything in Christ (Col.1 :20).

Reflection.

Take a moment to thank God for his plan, think about how he has worked in your own life and the fact that he has not finished yet. Pray for those you know who need to experience the God who has a plan for them.

Well, it seems I took my own advice in my last post to ‘put your feet up and have a rest’ rather too literally. I have taken a year off! In my defence it was marked by study, taking on a new allotment and ill health which didn’t leave much energy for anything else. Sometimes we set off with good intent but can get derailed on the way by circumstances beyond our control. Learning to accept those moments with grace is not something I’m very good at. Since retirement I have discovered just how purpose driven I can be and it is one of the challenges of retirement; finding your purpose in a new context.

It is not long until Easter and my devotional reading today was about the cruelty that Jesus experienced at the hands of the Roman soldiers. It was terrible and as a Christian I can feel both horror and gratitude  that my Saviour went through such an ordeal willingly. However, his suffering is not unique; I wish it was. All over the world there are people suffering the consequences of man’s inhumanity to man. Whether it is an unkind word, domestic violence, the callousness of people smugglers, or the torture of prisoners under the rule of dictators; it is ever present. The gospel tells me that God, through Jesus, will show as much mercy to the traffickers, to the boat people and the Home Secretary who wants rid of them, as he has to me. None of us would deserve it yet it is there if we will avail ourselves of his love and forgiveness. I believe the gospel is the only way we can find enough grace and lovingkindness for one another. We must find it for ourselves first so that we can live it out for others, challenge our inhumanity and create a better society .

May this Lent and Easter time bring a fresh revelation of God’s unconditional grace towards each one of us.

I don’t mean the smutty sort I mean the soil beneath your feet. Whilst writing an essay on Christian engagement in environmental concerns I came across some interesting scripture.

In 2 Chron. 36:21 is written ^‘ So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.’ NLT

He is right of course, Jeremiah did prophecy this exile of God’s people into Babylon for 70 years (Jer. 29:10). I think that as Christians we assume this was because of their moral failure or worship of other gods. There is another and older reason.

Lev. 26:32-35 talks about the importance of giving the land rest by a seven year sabbatical or furlough, and what happens if you don’t.

³² Yes, I myself will devastate your land, and your enemies who come to occupy it will be appalled at what they see. ³³ I will scatter you among the nations and bring out my sword against you. Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in ruins. ³⁴ Then at last the land will enjoy its neglected Sabbath years as it lies desolate while you are in exile in the land of your enemies. Then the land will finally rest and enjoy the Sabbaths it missed. ³⁵ As long as the land lies in ruins, it will enjoy the rest you never allowed it to take every seventh year while you lived in it. NLT

God cares about this planet, including the earth that gives us food. I wonder what he thinks of us as we pour on fertilizers, overusing the land until it turns to dust. If you wanted a spiritual reason for regenerative farming its right there.

It also reminds us of the importance of rest which God built into the world he created. Israel’s failure to observe the Sabbath was probably a mixture of desire for the wealth of the ‘lost’ year or perhaps thinking they knew better? We are only just discovering how wonderful and complex is  soil and its micro organisms. It is a warning that when we ignore the foundational truths of how God wants us to live it is easier to start ignoring other things; as Israel did.

So if you have a patch of soil to tend then cherish it; God does. Look after it, tend it, then put your feet up and have a little rest!

(I wrote this a while ago but got distracted by acquiring an allotment that needs lots of work!)

There is wonderful joy in learning and discovering new things about our universe and those we share it with. I’m not sure that as a teenage I valued learning that much, but with age comes the desire to keep on learning as long as I can. Knowledge can empower us. It helps lift people out of poverty, finds cures for terrible illnesses and enables our lives enormously.

Knowledge also has a dark side. What is discovered brings with it responsibility for what we do with that knowing. Alfred Nobel set up his 5 peace prizes, given to those who benefit humanity, following the realisation of how history might remember him and his discovery of dynamite. Since then we battle with the dangers of nuclear power and next, perhaps, it will be A.I. Our current environmental crises come from our failure to manage the industrialisation of our society. The dark is not the knowledge itself but how our moral values direct our use of that knowledge.

In the garden of Eden Adam and Eve were tempted to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The lie of the serpent was the promise that they would ‘be like God’. That appeal to our pride and desire for power remains in us. The idea of knowing something others don’t. Gossip is one manifestation of this; it gives us the upper hand.

In the early church the Gnostics, who claimed special knowledge (gnosis), caused a lot of trouble and confusion within the church and to its leaders. The apostles, Paul and John, wrote several letters to correct the false teaching that arose. Paul warns against those who get puffed up in their minds by the idea that they have special spiritual or mystical knowledge. Maybe those folk started out with good intent but somewhere down the line lost their way, caused distress in the church and sometimes ended up leaving.

Over decades of ministry I have seen this repeated again and again. Good people get deceived by a teaching or profound spiritual experience that appeals to them. They set themselves apart as knowing God and his will better than others. In society at large we have an explosion of information; the spreading of fake news. Groups like QAnon appeal to those who are lost not knowing who to believe. Special or secret knowledge still appeals to our pride and self-seeking. When we stop being accountable and become our own authority then danger looms.

Ironically the knowledge of good and evil should lead to greater discernment, but perhaps that only happens when it is coupled to humility before God and others?

Over the Christmas holidays a family conversation began in my house about contentment and its importance. It got me thinking about the topic and its value in our lives. Contentment will mean different things to each of us. Life may be a mixture of satisfaction in some areas and discontent in others.

Our conversation centred around work and the pressure to improve your status (and therefore your remuneration) versus being happy where you are. How is that seen? Is it lack of ambition if you aren’t looking for that next promotion or is it wisdom? What are we ambitious for? Money, position, success? There’s nothing wrong with that. Or maybe we would rather be ambitious for more family time, creativity, mental wellbeing? We hear about those who have given up successful careers and opted for a simpler basic life with fewer mental or emotional stressors. Maybe we have envied them…. except perhaps for the composting toilet! (Just kidding).

The Apostle Paul has a few things to say on the topic. He doesn’t seem to need an awful lot. 1 Tim 6:6-8 tells us we can be content with just food and clothing. He reminds us we bring nothing into life and can take nothing out. In Philippians 4 (one of his prison letters) he writes about how he learnt to be content, which gives me hope that I could do likewise. There appears to be a very wonderful humility in this; Paul isn’t expecting that he ought to receive more. Is he ambitious? Absolutely. But his ambition is not for himself but for the kingdom of God and the spread of the gospel. Perhaps this is where the answer lies, in being ambitious for others, but content in ourselves. That does sound incredible and desirable to me.

There is so much wrong in our world caused by pride and self-seeking. Our discontent has plundered the earth of its resources and created great divides between peoples.

Finding serenity is partly found in knowing who we are and being at peace in it. Jesus told his disciples that they didn’t need to worry about anything, but simply trust their heavenly father (Matthew 6). In Habbakuk 3:17-19 the prophet says that even if all of life is a disaster, he will keep worshipping God and find joy and security there.

It seems to me that to find contentment in life there needs to be an outside reference point. Whether that external frame is faith in God, another belief system, or a moral principle or cause. Having a faith in something that is bigger than us and outside of us helps to locate that order and humility that brings contentment.

‘We bring nothing in and can take nothing out’ In this sense we all start and end the same. We can try to medicate the empty space with stuff, power or people. Serenity comes through a clear sense of what matters most and being at peace in yourself. For me that comes through faith in Christ.

However we come to that place I pray we will all find that oasis of contentment in the year ahead.

P.S. Last thought: Do you think contentment comes easier with age?