Where are you Lord?
Where are your promises
Of grace and mercy?
Can’t you see we are hurting,
Pained by the sting of your judgement?
Lift your hand, Lord
Lessen the sting of your discipline
For the glory of your name
Redeem us, set us free.
reflection
Reflection on Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
My heart is broken
Joy has deserted me
This nation has abandoned God
And the poor go hungry
How I wish I could cry
A fountain of tears
Weeping day and night
For my people
Reflection on Luke 14:25-33
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+14.25-33
Scripture
“Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
Observation
Jesus teaches the crowds about the cost of discipleship.
Love for Jesus must take priority over all family duties. In comparison we must “hate” father and mother, even life itself. We must die to ourselves as surely as a condemned man carrying a cross is dead.
Before we start the path of discipleship we must first count the cost. A man building a tower first works out if he has enough money to complete it. A king going out to wage war must first consider if he has the army to defeat the enemy. Likewise, following Jesus will cost everything we have.
Application
Jesus does not sugar coat His message. He makes it clear that there is a cost to following Him.
This is no easy religion of “Come to Jesus to make you happy.” No, we follow Jesus because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is a cost to following the Way, receiving the Truth and living the Life.
Jesus must come first in all things. If that separates us from our family so be it. If it costs us money or even our life, so be it.
We are used to having it easy in the West, but this is changing. Muslims who turn to Christ often lose their family, their jobs and even their lives. The time is coming when christians in Australia may face similar penalties.
Is Christ that precious to you?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you gave up everything for me. Please give me grace to give up everything for you. Amen.
Reflection on Philemon
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philemon
Scripture
I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good you may do for Christ.
Observation
This is Paul’s letter to Philemon and the church that meets at his house.
Paul recalls Philemon’s love for the saints and faith In Christ. He prays that his faith sharing will be effective.
Paul turns to the issue of Onesimus a slave who had run away from Philemon’s household and had since become a christian under Paul’s ministry. Paul urges Philemon to receive Onesimus not as a slave but a brother. Paul promises to make up any financial loss Philemon might have incurred.
Application
Some people say that Paul tacitly excused slavery because he did not write against it. In a society that was economically dependent on human labour, slavery was a given fact of life. In a situation where christians had no power, writing against slavery would not have changed anything.
Here in the short letter to Philemon we see how the gospel works to transform society one person at a time. Paul’s argument is that Philemon should treat Onesimus as a brother for whom Christ had died not as property.
Our situation is different but the principle is the same. We share the gospel and act for righteousness, and lives are changed one at a time. We cannot easily end abortion but we can offer alternatives to people considering a termination, changing one life at a time. We may not be able to remove tensions between ethnic groups but we can build bridges of friendship and help individuals to find reconciliation and peace in Christ.
When christians all work on their little piece of the puzzle we find that together the Body of Christ is able to have a big influence.
Prayer
Lord, where are you asking me to bring change today? Show me the one person I can share my faith with today. Amen.
Reflection on Jeremiah 18:1-11
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+18.1-11
Scripture
The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Observation
The Lord tells Jeremiah to go to the house of the potter. Jeremiah goes and sees a potter working at a wheel. The vessel he is working on goes wrong so he reworks it into a different shape and purpose.
The Lord then speaks to Jeremiah and says that He is the potter shaping the nations, including Israel, to His purposes. He may declare disaster on a nation, but if that nation repents of its evil ways, He will save it. Likewise, He may plan to bless a nation, but if the nation turns to evil then He will withdraw the blessing.
He then warns Israel that He is planning judgement on the nation but there is still a chance to turn from its wicked ways.
Application
It is a sobering thought that we are clay on the Potter’s wheel. We want to think that we are captains of our own destiny, but the truth is that the Lord is shaping us for His purposes.
There are few fixed points in our future. Our sin will reap its rewards, but if we repent we can avoid eternal judgement. Likewise all of our good deeds count for nothing if there is sin in our hearts. Our relationship with God, in Jesus, is the key to becoming vessels fit for use.
Only Jesus can rework our lives and reshape the vessel of our heart.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I submit myself to you again. You are the Potter, I am the clay. Use me for your purposes. Amen
Reflection on Luke 14:7-14
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+14.7-14
Scripture
“All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Observation
At a banquet Jesus notices that people are jockeying for the best places. He tells them that it is better to choose a lower place so that the host promotes you than to choose an honoured place and have the host move you to make space for another.
It is better to give a banquet for the poor, the crippled and the lame who cannot repay you than to only invite your friends. Jesus assures us that we will receive our reward in heaven.
Application
In a culture that relentlessly encourages self-promotion, Jesus’ teaching seems crazy. Why not put yourself out there and make people take notice of you?
The pathway of humility- being realistic about ourselves and others- is actually more productive in the long term, and certainly in the Kingdom of God.
We live not for the glory of men but for the affirmation of God. At least we should live for the affirmation of God.
Is it better to have the “Well done!” of creatures of limited senses or to have our heavenly Father who created the cosmos with a word say “Great effort!”?
It is too easy to have our goals and desires shaped by sinful people. God wants us to keep our our eyes on the goal of eternity.
Prayer
Lord I understand that you are training me for an everlasting Kingdom. Please help me to set my eyes and my heart on what pleases you. Amen.
Reflection on Hebrews 13:1-16
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13.1-16
Scripture
For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Observation
We are to continue to show love to one another, practise hospitality to strangers and pray for prisoners. We should have pure lives free from adultery and greed.
We must imitate the lives of our leaders and their faith. We should always look to Jesus our sacrifice, and not allow others to divert us with strange teachings. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and for ever.
Our city is not in this world. We must continually go outside the city to the place of sacrifice, allowing Jesus to transform our lives.
Application
If we dissect this passage and list out the rules which must be obeyed then we will become overwhelmed by the things we have to do to please God.
This passage is not about obeying rules as such. Jesus is the focus of the passage. We need to keep our focus on Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and for ever. If we do that, we find our natural inclination is for the Holy Spirit to transform our lives so that we become the people the “rules” command us to be.
Jesus is our eternal sacrifice. He takes away the sins of the world and presents us faultless to the Father. Hallelujah!
Prayer
Lord God, please dwell in my life with such radiance that sin has no attraction to me. Amen.
Reflection on Jeremiah 2:1-13
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+2.1-13
What did I do
That you reject me so?
I loved you and rescued you
I gave you a land and identity.
You, my people, spurned me
My love is nothing to you
I gave you living water
But you preferred leaky tanks.
Reflection on Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+11.29-32
Scripture
Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
Observation
It was faith that enabled Israel to pass through the Red Sea while the Egyptians perished. All the men and women of the Old Testament conquered by faith. Faith allowed some to receive their dead back alive. The same faith sustained others who were badly mistreated.
But all of these people, although they had faith, did not receive the promise of God in Christ.
Application
Despite the emphasis on obeying the Law in the Old Testament, it was faith that led all of the great people in Israel’s history. Faith is the unshakable trust that God is with us whether we are conquering kingdoms or are being sawn in two.
There are some people who want to return to the Old Testament Law. They say that we are “grafted in” and must therefore live as the Hebrews did. But this chapter says that those old-time believers are actually made perfect in us. We have a better promise, a higher revelation, and so the older promise is no longer needed.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for the faith of those who trusted you before Jesus. Help me to trust you in all things every day. Amen.
Reflection on Psalm 80:1-19
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+80
O Lord my God
I am your vineyard
You planted me
You saved me
But now you’ve abandoned
This vineyard you planted.
Why O Lord?
Come and rescue me
Redeem and set me free
I will bear the fruit you seek.
New Life Narrabri 