Who is this man Jesus
Son of Man
Son of God?
Who is this servant
Who bears the sins of the world
Who binds the wounds of all?
—
You were beaten and killed for me
Crushed under a load of sin
Broken on a cross and buried
Raised to life again.
—
You are my Lord, Jesus
Son of God
Son of Man.
Scripture
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Observation
A rich man comes to Jesus to ask Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him he must sell all he owns to give to the poor and then come and follow Jesus.
The man goes away grieving because he has many possessions. Jesus tells the disciples that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom.
Jesus tells them that anyone who leaves all he has to follow Him will receive much more- including persecution- and will obtain eternal life.
Application
Following Jesus means a daily choice between God’s kingdom and our own kingdom. We have a plethora of idols, but for most of us the greatest of these is what we own.
Our possessions, including money, give us security, identity and status. Jesus requires us to find these things in Him alone.
Faith means that I choose to find myself in Christ not in the things that I see, own and control.
For many people that is a choice that is too hard.
Prayer
Thank you Lord Jesus that in you I have everything that is important. Help me to stand firm against the false promises made by material possessions. Amen.
Scripture
Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Observation
The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces deeply into our spirit. The word judges our thoughts and intentions so that no one can hide from God.
We have a great high priest who is just like us, tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Because of Him, Jesus the Son of God, we may boldly approach the throne of grace to find mercy, grace and help.
Application
God’s word brings both judgement and grace. The word reads us as much as we read it, and It sinks in deeply to reveal the true state of our soul.
But Christ who is both the living word and the great high priest, provides both grace and mercy, so that our sins, even the ones we hide most carefully, can be brought out and forgiven.
Jesus doesn’t just provide forgiveness for sin, He empowers us to stand form in Him and to resists sin’s claim on our life.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for the grace and mercy I find at your throne. Amen.
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My God, my God
Why have you forsaken me?
Like Job sitting in the dirt
Scraping his skin
Seeking relief
From pain within
I look everywhere
You are gone
—
My friends say
“You have sinned”
My theology of suffering
Looks very thin
I know you’re here God
I will not let you go
This is a test, and tests end
I will see your face again
Scripture
He said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”
Observation
Some Pharisees come to Jesus and ask if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus replies that the law of divorce was given because of the hardness of people’s hearts. God’s plan for marriage is that a man and a woman become one flesh. No man, then, can separate what God has joined together.
Jesus then lays down a hard line position that anyone who divorces and then remarries is committing adultery.
People bring their children to Jesus to be blessed. The disciples try to keep them away, but Jesus is indignant. He takes the children into his arms and blesses them.
Application
Jesus’ hard line on divorce hits us hard in an era of lax attitudes to marriage and sex. Can Jesus really be meaning what He says here?
The issue for Jesus is the state of our hearts. The Pharisees are asking how easy should it be to walk away from a marriage. But Jesus is saying that we need to work hard to save a marriage in which partners have become “one flesh.”
Likewise, Jesus inverts our attitudes towards children who can be seen by the church as a bit of a problem to be managed. Jesus tells us to embrace children as a sign of God’s kingdom. The “little ones”, the ones whom society deems to be of little worth , are precisely the people God welcomes.
Prayer
Holy Father please help me to walk in the grace and holiness of Jesus today. Amen.
Scripture
God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.
Observation
We must pay attention to God’s word in order to not drift away from Him. The message of salvation was declared through the Lord Jesus , and God added His testimony through miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The coming world will be subject to people, not to angels. Like Jesus who was exalted and crowned with glory after His death, we too will be honoured by God.
Application
We can easily become discouraged, even drift away from faith altogether, if we do not keep our eyes fixed firmly on the Lord Jesus.
We need to meditate constantly on God’s word to understand who we are in Christ. Drifting away from Christ is the worst thing imaginable.
The gospel is true- testified by millions of christians who have found life in Him, and by God Himself in the provision of miracles and spiritual gifts.
How could we possibly turn our backs on all this?
Prayer
Lord grant me grace to stand firm in you, trusting you in every situation. Amen.
Scripture
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on all the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him for no reason.”
Observation
After satan has been given permission to test Job by destroying all of Job’s property and killing his sons, Job still refuses to sin by cursing the Lord.
The Lord boasts about Job’s integrity to satan (which means the accuser). Satan retorts that people will give away everything to save their lives, but if Job’s body is afflicted he will soon curse the Lord.
So the Lord gives satan permission to afflict Job’s body. Satan inflicts painful sores all over Job. Even Job’s wife tells him to “Curse God and die.” But Job refuses to curse the Lord.
Application
The book of Job challenges all of our pragmatic and religious theories about suffering.
There was no physical reason for Job’s painful sores, nor for the loss of his property and sons. It all seems so random- a run of personal disasters.
A religious explanation of his suffering is that Job is being punished for some hidden sin. Yet the text says that Job was without sin.
In many ways, Job is a picture of Jesus who fulfilled all righteousness without any sin, yet suffered physically and spiritually for the sins of the world.
Bad things happen in our lives. When they do, we need to cling more tightly to the hope we have in Christ,
Prayer
Lord you have not promised to protect us from all evil, but you have promised to walk with us even in the toughest time. Please help me to trust you when my life makes no sense. Amen.
Scripture
“Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.”
Observation
John tells Jesus that they saw someone who was not of their group casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus tells them that anyone doing a deed of power in His name will not be able to then speak evil about Him.
Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that they must not cause a “little one” to stumble in their faith. It is better to cut off parts of our body that cause us to sin than to be whole and cast into hell.
Everyone will be salted with fire. Jesus’ followers must allow the salt of the Holy Spirit to be always present.
Application
Jesus is very liberal in His grace- far more so than we are. He doesn’t require us to be on His team to minister His power. Sometimes we hear of evangelists who aren’t themselves born again yet they effectively preach the gospel. People who aren’t believers find themselves praying for healing for others, and God responds.
God delights for His grace to be manifest in the world so that as many as possible can be saved.
This does not mean that judgement will not come. Everyone will be salted with fire, and it is better to enter life maimed than to be whole in hell.
The eternal question is not “What did you do for Christ?” but “Is Christ in your heart?”
Prayer
Lord you are good in all of your ways. Thank you for setting me free from sin in the death of Jesus. Amen.
Scripture
Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Observation
When we are suffering we should pray; when we are happy, praise; if we are sick call for the elders and seek prayer. Such prayer, offered in faith, will gain healing and forgiveness.
We should confess our sins to one another and pray for one another to be healed. An ordinary person who is righteous before the Lord can achieve much through prayer. Elijah is our example of this.
If someone wanders from the Lord, we must seek to bring them back.
Application
James does not say that sin leads to sickness or that sickness is caused by sin. However he does link the two. If we sin, we are out of fellowship with God and therefore cannot so easily receive His healing.
The early christian church practised a high level of community. People prayed and rejoiced together. They prayed for the sick and confessed their sins to one another. All of this was done voluntarily and in an atmosphere of love and acceptance of one another.
In out highly privatised culture, we are not used to this kind of transparency. It can start with us reaching out And being honest with our brothers and sisters in our cell groups and in larger church gatherings.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, please help me to grow my faith to believe your word, to pray for healing and to be honest in my church. Amen.
Scripture
So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
Observation
Haman had been plotting against the Jews because of his hatred of one of them, a man named Mordecai.
After much dancing around court proprieties, Queen Esther, herself a Jew, manages to get Haman and the King together for a banquet.
There she reveals Haman’s plot against the Jews. The king, filled with rage, orders Haman hanged, ironically from the gallows that Haman had had built to kill Mordecai.
Application
The book of Esther is about God’s care for His people. He raises one of them, Esther, to a place of unrivalled influence so that she is in a position to protect His people.
God is still caring for His people, from the least to the most powerful. When danger threatens. We can still trust Him to lead us through.
Prayer
Lord God Almighty, you are my rescuer and deliverer. I will put my trust in you alone. Amen.
New Life Narrabri 