Month: November 2023

Reflection on Isaiah 10

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 Scripture

After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish His purposes, He will turn against the king of Assyria  and punish him, for he is proud and arrogant.

Observation

The unjust judges of Israel who steal from the poor will be punished. They will have nobody to turn to for help.

Assyria is the Lord’s tool –  a rod or club. The Lord is sending Assyria against Israel because they have become godless. 

The king of Assyria is himself arrogant and thinks he is mightier than the God of Israel. The Lord will punish him for this. The Lord will  consume Assyria’s glory like a fire consumes a forest. 

The Lord will preserve a remnant in Israel, so they are not to be afraid. The Lord will end the bondage of His people. 

 Application

The Lord is not afraid to use godless people to punish His people. He used Assyria and Babylon in the Old Testament. He has used all kinds of oppression through the ages to strengthen the true church and purify it as if through fire.

The Bible makes it clear that although the Lord uses these tyrants to bring about his purposes, that does not absolve them from guilt. The king of Assyria does what he wants to because he can with no reference to God. Therefore the Lord will punish him for his sinful attitudes and actions.

Whenever the church faces persecution, we can be confident that God is using the suffering of His people to deepen their trust in Him. This does not make the persecution acceptable, and the perpetrators will face the wrath of the Lord, unless they repent.

Prayer

Lord, your ways are perfect. Thank you for the assurance that, even when people act to fulfil your purposes, you will still hold them accountable. Amen.

Reflection on Isaiah 9

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Scripture

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; for those who live in a land of deep darkness a light will shine.

Observation

The predicted time of darkness will come to an end. The people who walked in darkness will see a great light. The Lord will enlarge the off the op stop

A child is born, and the government will rest on him. He will be the wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting father, the prince of peace. His rule will be fair, and he bring never ending peace.

In a single day, the Lord will destroy both the leaders of Israel and the prophets.

Application

Isaiah looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour of Israel. In this chapter, there are two passages that relate to the birth of Jesus.

God promised that the people who walk in darkness will see a great light. This is a message about salvation that comes through Jesus.

We are the people who walked in darkness. We were in bondage to sin and evil, even when we tried to do good. Satan had us in captivity.

Then the light of the gospel shone into our dark lives and we saw the love of God.

Whether you had a dramatic conversion experience as I did, or grew up in a Christian family and gradually grew into faith, the process of salvation is the same. We see the light of God, recognise our need for a saviour, and then call on the Name of the Lord to be saved.

This is all God’s work. Praise the Lord!

Prayer

Thank you Lord for saving me. I was trapped in the darkest place, but you shone the light of your gospel. Thank you. Amen.

The Doctor Is Back

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I have always loved Doctor Who.

I was 5 when it started in 1963, and it has just celebrated its 60th Anniversary. Over the years I have watched just about every episode that aired in both the Classic and Modern incarnations.

What I have loved about Doctor Who is the sheer imagination, creativity and story-telling skills of the writers, producers and actors. The Doctor has had many faces, many companions and many producers in its time, but it has always known how to tell big stories.

I lost all faith during the Chris Chibnall/ Jodie Whittaker years. I wanted to like Jodie as the Doctor but the stories were just boring. She really lost me when she did a long monologue about how climate change had produced these wild monsters and it was all our fault. I tried a few weeks later, but the story was so forgettable that I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. With Chibnall only producing a season every second year, it was all too easy to not be bothered.

But a year or so ago, rumours started to emerge that Russell T Davies was coming back to the Whoniverse (an era christened RTD2). A new bountiful human empire was promised in which all the wrongs of the past would be overturned and Doctor Who would return to its previous era of brilliance.

They have resurrected David Tenant as a kind of bridge into the new era before Ncuti Gatwa takes over next year.

The downside amongst all the good news is that the international streaming rights have been sold to Disney Plus. I am guessing that Disney are paying huge bucks for this which can be invested into the production of the series.So everybody outside the UK who wants to watch the latest Doctor Who has to subscribe to Disney Plus, or a VPN or use Pirate Bay.

I decided to do the proper thing and subscribe to Disney Plus. For $13.99 I can see the 3 60th Anniversary specials plus the Christmas Special. Then I can cancel my subscription until the next season releases next year.. unless I find something compelling on Disney.

So what was the first Special “The Star Beast” like?

The Doctor finds himself in London and runs into his old friend Donna Noble. Donna was quite the character- very outspoken and loud. In her last appearance in the show, Donna had absorbed all the knowledge of the Time Lords, and if she ever recognised the Doctor again she would surely die.

An alien space ship crashes, carrying The Meep, a cute looking furry creature. Donna’s daughter, Rose, takes him/her/it home. It turns out that The Meep is actually a very ferocious and cruel creature intent on galactic domination. The Doctor, Donna and Rose are able to save the planet and everything is good.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad episode of Doctor Who. Not in the top 10 best ever, but mostly a pretty solid story. I thought the bad guy form of the Meep was a bit cheesy, but overall the story was good.

The Star Beast is a good return for Davies and sets the stage for some good stories in the future.

The Doctor is back!