Reflection

Reflection on Psalm 22

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Scripture

The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him.

Reflection

Psalm 22 is a powerful visual description of crucifixion, especially Jesus’ crucifixion.

It is the death of Christ on the cross that sets us free from sin.

“The cross is my provision for you,” says the Lord. ” There is no other way.”

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, I know my sins are forgiven and that the wall of separation that kept me away from God is demolished; not one brick stands on another.

The whole Earth will acknowledge the Lord. The gospel has gone to every nation on the planet. Millions and millions of people get saved every year. Whole nations who just a generation ago were pagan are now confessing Jesus Christ is Lord.

As many nations in the West – Europe North America and Australia – turn their backs on the Lord, many more in Asia and Africa are coming to the Lord.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the cross of Christ. It is the only way to salvation. Thank you for paying the price for my sin. Please help me to live as your obedient child. Amen.

Reflection on Psalm 118

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Scripture

The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?

Reflection

My dear child, I love you and everything I do in your life is for your thriving.

Your destiny is with me. Your destiny is eternal. You will live with me for ever.

My love runs deep. You can never escape from it, or from me, even if you run to the farthest corner of the Earth.

My love for you is eternal and unconditional. Do not be afraid of losing me. Don’t think there is anything you can do that will cause me to stop loving you.

Even the biggest sin that you can imagine will not stop the flow of my love. Fear that you might step outside of my love or turn me away from you.

Whatever you go through in this life, I will be with you. You may face challenges. You may face human enemies that are out to destroy you. But I will walk with you.

What can people do to you? Mere people. All they can do is break your body. They cannot kill your spirit. They cannot take the Holy Spirit from you.

Rejoice and be glad.

Let the joy of my presence transform your daily life.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for this knowledge that you are always with me. People cannot hurt me because you are my strength and shield. Amen.

Reflection on Philippians 2:5-11

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Scripture

Instead he gave up his divine privileges;

He took the humble position of a slave and was born a human being.

Reflection

When I became flesh it was with a purpose in view. There is nothing remarkable in this; men and women give up the privileges of being in the comfort of home for the purpose of defending their nation.

The highest form of this self giving is when a missionary serves me by leaving all that is familiar to take the gospel to a foreign land.

My heart is blessed whenever anyone gives of themselves for my sake. It is in doing this that you take on my attitude.

At the heart of this is absolute surrender to me. I desire that you learn to trust me in all things.

For my Son the pain was horrendous, the spiritual agony and abandonment of the Cross almost infinite. But the payoff in honour was also commensurate.

Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every human being, every spirit being, every part of creation will give worship and praise to my Son.

Surrender and submission bring honour in my Kingdom.

Even in battle, when it feels like the pressure is intense, that every demon in creation is focused on you, stand firm. Trust me and know this: those same evil beings that torment you today will eventually praise me because of your steadfastness.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for this revelation. As I surrender myself to you, you will force even the enemy to honour me, and to worship you because of me. Please help me to stand firm in you in all things. Amen.

Reflection on Isaiah 50:4-9

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Scripture

The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary.

Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.

Reflection

Daily I give you my words of wisdom, and all the other spiritual gifts. I whisper my words into your spirit all day long and through the night. Are you listening?

How do these words come to you?

  • through the Scriptures first. I want you to live in a living relationship with my living word.
  • in meditation as you open your ears and your heart to my Spirit.
  • in the still quiet sounds of silence as I show you my will in each situation, and in each person you face.

My words of wisdom are not for you alone, although I delight to give you my wisdom.

My words of wisdom are for you to comfort the weary. My people are weary of seeking me in a dry land, in religion rather than in the Spirit. They have been burdened for too long, thinking they must earn my favour.

But my heart is especially to those who grown under the shame and the guilt of sin. You have the words of my wisdom, the words of the gospel, that will set them free.

Comfort, comfort my people. Let them know there is rest in me, there is life in me. Tell them, “Go deeper in me.”

Don’t think my words are limited to the daylight hours. I will speak to you through the night time in dreams and visions, and I will wake you with my thoughts.

All you have to do is ask.

Prayer

Lord I ask you now to come and fill me. Tune me into your words of wisdom. Let my spirit be hearing your Spirit all day and all night. Amen.

Reflection on John 12:1-8

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Scripture

Then Mary took a 12 ounce (300 g) jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

Observation

Six days before Passover, Jesus comes to Bethany where He had previously raised Lazarus from the dead. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, takes a bottle of expensive perfume. She pours it out over Jesus’ feet and wipes them with her hair. The whole house is filled with the smell of the perfume.

Judas iscariot complains that the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. It was worth a year’s wages.

But Jesus rebukes Judas. He says Mary has done a beautiful thing, a preparation for his burial.

Application

Reckless devotion to Jesus is never a bad thing.

True worship is demonstrative. Our emotions should show when our hearts are in tune with Jesus. We may not pour out perfume in His honour, but we will want to express our love for Him through song, words, raised hands, dance, or some other way.

True worship will cost us something. Worship is not about mere words, although words are important. It is not about turning up on Sunday.

When we worship from the heart,our attitudes and priorities will change. It is no longer about what we want to do, but about surrendering to God’s will. Our money and time become surrendered to God, and we find ourselves blessed with a generous spirit that wants to give to others and to God’s work.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I love you. Let my whole life be surrendered to worshipping you. Amen.

Reflection on Isaiah 43: 16-21

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Scripture

“Forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new.”

Observation

The Lord will send an army against Babylon, for the sake of his people. He is the Lord who brought his people through the water to escape from Egypt.

He is going to do something new. He will make a pathway through the desert. He will create rivers in the wasteland. The wild animals will thank the Lord for giving them water.

The Lord made Israel for himself, and they will honour him before the whole world.

Application

God is the God of the new thing.

He does not abandon the old thing, but he makes a new thing out of old things, and sometimes out of nothing.

It is good to celebrate what God has done in the past, but we should not cling to these when God shows us there is a new thing to be done.

Isaiah speaks of a road in the wilderness and a river in the desert. This was the way home for Israel from the exile.

Sometimes it can feel like we are stuck in a bad place – perhaps sins that we cannot shake or hurting situations that we cannot change.

In those places, we can always look to the Lord and trust him to provide the new things, the new road in the desert. We could never have worked it out by ourselves, it is all the work of God.

The key is to keep our eyes on the Lord and be open to His new thing.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, nobody would have expected the new thing you did by dying on the cross. Thank you that you are not bound by our limited ways of thinking. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 15:11-32

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Scripture

“We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost but now he is found.” So the party began

Observation

To illustrate the point that God loves sinners, Jesus tells the famous story about the prodigal son.

A man had two sons. The younger one demands his share of the family inheritance. He goes away and spends it all on wild living .

This son finds himself in a desperate circumstances and eventually goes home to his father. He realises he deserves nothing from his father, but at least the servants are better off than him.

He goes home. The father runs to meet him, overwhelmed with joy that his lost son has returned.

Big brother is not happy. He has slaved away and never had a party in his honour. But the father points out that the son has always had access to the father and to everything he owns. The younger son, in contrast, was like a dead man who has come back to life.

Application

God loves a party! All through the Bible we find references to feasts and festivals. Of course, the biggest party ever will take place in Heaven when we are all reunited with the Father.

Here in Jesus’ story, there is a father who celebrates the return of his wayward son. There are no lectures or recriminations, no punishment or probation. It’s all joy and celebration.

I’ve never had any children go off the rails. I do have some who moved a long way from home, and it is always a joy when they come back.

My joy is just a tiny fraction of the joy God feels when a sinner turns around and comes back to Him.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for this expression of the joy that you experienced in your family. May I always make you happy. Amen.

Reflection on 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

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Scripture

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.

Observation

Paul recognises the fearful responsibility the Lord has laid on him, so he works hard to persuade other people.

Christ died for all, so we have all died to our old life. He died for all so that those who receive the new life will live for Christ and not for themselves.

Everyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The old life is gone, and a new life has begun. All of this is God’s gift. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.

We are Christ’s ambassadors. We speak for Christ when we urge people to turn to the Lord.

Application

When I became a Christian, I became a new person. The old life came to an end and a new life began.

I am not held in captivity by my old nature. No, I am set free to live the perfect and righteous life that God intended for me. I am free to live to the glory of God.

Of course, I have not yet learnt how to live in perfection. Like a horror movie, my old nature keeps reaching out to reclaim me.

Thankfully, God is gracious. He continues to forgive my sins, not counting them against me. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(See 1 John 1:9)

Prayer

Thank you Jesus for raising me to a new life. My old life is gone and a new life is here. Hallelujah! Amen.

Reflection on Joshua 5:1-12

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Scripture

The very next day they began to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the land. No manna appeared on the day they first ate from the crops of the land, and it was never seen again. So from that time on, the Israelites ate from the crops of Canaan.

Observation

The Lord tells Joshua to circumcise the Israelite men. All the men who had been old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had been circumcised, but they were now dead. The next generation born in the wilderness had not been circumcised.

The Lord then says to Joshua,”Now I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.”

There at Gilgal, the Israelites celebrate Passover for the first time in the Promised Land. The next day they begin to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the land. That day, the manna stops and is never seen again.

Application

Gods provision of manna over the forty years in the wilderness had never failed. Like clockwork, every morning except the Sabbath, it appeared.

Suddenly, this free gift is taken away, because it is no longer needed. Instead, God has provided for them grain ready to be harvested, His first provision in the land flowing with milk and honey.

Gods provision is always adequate for what we need. When one form of provision ends, another takes its place.

He is faithful. He loves us and desires to meet our needs .

We never have to be afraid that He will let us down.

Prayer

Thank you Father for your extraordinary grace. In you I will always have enough. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 13:1-9

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Scripture

“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.”

Observation

Jesus is informed that some Galileans were murdered by Pilate in the Temple. He asks if they think these particular people were worse sinners than others. He tells them they too will perish unless they repent of their sins.

Similarly, the people who perished when a tower fell on them in Jerusalem were no worse sinners than anyone else.

Jesus then tells a parable about a man who planted a fig tree in his garden. He was disappointed by its lack of fruitfulness. Finally, he tells his gardener to cut the tree down. The gardener asks the owner to give the tree another chance; he will take special care and fertilise it, and it should do better the next year – if not, they can cut it down then.

Application

A common response to feeling convicted about sin is to compare ourselves to other people. We might think we are not as bad as that person. If someone is struck down by tragedy, we might wonder if they did something to deserve it.

Jesus rightly draws our attention to ourselves. We need to repent of our own sins and turn to God rather than wondering about the sins of others. Yes, other people do bad things too, but that does not make us righteous.

God is not slow to punish sinners. The parable of the barren fig tree shows that He is always wanting to give us another chance to repent.

But the time will come when the last chances run out, and we have to give an account to God for our sins.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for your loving kindness. You always show grace to those who turn to you. Thank you. Amen.