reflection

Reflection on Exodus 30:1-31:18

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“Look, I have specifically chosen Bezael, son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all manner of crafts.”

Application

The Lord filled Bezael with His Spirit to oversee the construction of the Tabernacle, its furnishings, and the clothing for the priests.

We don’t often think of people being filled with the Holy Spirit to make beautiful artefacts for the worship of God. In particular, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was given for specific purposes to the prophets, kings and priests.

In our context, we might think of someone filled or anointed with the Holy Spirit to be a preacher or evangelist, pastor or prophet.

But why not the worship leader or musicians? The people who make beautiful objects for the church to inspire people to worship the Lord?

Whenever any person seeks to lift up people’s attention to encourage them to worship the Lord, there the Spirit of God is.

Not all of these people may feel filled with the Holy Spirit every time they for their thing- the same applies to pastors and preachers. There will be times, thought, that they know that God has inspired that flower arrangement, that banner, or that musical performance.

We rejoice that God can dwell in and empower the most humble of tasks dedicated to His glory.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, come and fill me and enable me to glorify you in my acts of service. Amen.

Reflection on Exodus 29:1-46

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“These burnt offerings are to be made each day from generation to generation. I will meet the people of Israel there in the place made holy by my glorious presence.”

Application

Every day from generation to generation the priests were to offer a burnt offering of a lamb in the morning and the afternoon in order to atone for Israel’s sins.

Jesus is our sacrifice. He died once to pay for our sins for all time. This is a powerful reminder. What the priesthood of Aaron could only achieve for half a day, Jesus our high Priest has achieved for eternity.

From the beginning there have always been some christians who have wanted to add in the Old Testament rituals and observances. But why would you do that? We have the perfect sacrifice already. We can add nothing to what Christ has done.

When the priests made the sacrifices, the Lord promised that He would meet them in that holy place that He consecrated by His presence.

Because we have the Holy Spirit, we are carriers of God’s presence and are consecrated by Him.

We don’t have to go to a particular place to meet with the Lord. He is always with us.

The Lord is always ready to meet with us also. All it takes is a desire to meet with Him and time to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Lord I thank you that we have a better sacrifice and a better covenant than was available in the Old Testament. Thank you that I can meet with you at any time and in any place. Amen.

Reflection on Matthew 2:13-23

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“A cry was heard in Ramah –

weeping and great mourning.

Rachel weeps for her children

refusing to be comforted for they are dead.”

Observation

The wise men leave and, having been warned in a dream, they bypass Jerusalem. Joseph again has a dream in which an angel tells him to flee with the child to Egypt.

Herod orders all the boys under two years old who were born in or near Bethlehem to be killed.

After Herod dies, Joseph again has a dream that reassures him that it is time to return. The family settles in Nazareth in Galilee.

Application

When God is at work, we can be sure that satan is at work also, trying to undo God’s plans. Ironically, satan is often just dancing to the tune previously set by the Lord.

The Messiah is born, and satan seeks to destroy Him. He provokes the anger of Herod in an attempt to destroy God’s rescue plan. This plot, wicked as it is, was foreseen by Jeremiah hundreds of years prior.

Satan loves to think he is in control. He tries to convince God’s people to be afraid of him, to avoid big steps of faith, because of possible consequences. Yet, satan at every step is shown to be weaker than God.

The child of God has no reason to ever be afraid. “Greater is he that is in you than he than he that is in the world.”

Prayer

Father, the grief of those mothers and families whose little boys were killed by a paranoid king was great. Yet your grief for humanity lost in sin is even greater. Thank you for the knowledge that you have won the victory over the devil. Amen.

Reflection on Matthew 2:1-12

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“In Bethlehem in Judea.” they said. “For this is what the prophet wrote:

‘And you O Bethlehem in the land of Judah

are not least among the ruling cities of Judah

for a ruler will come from you

who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

Observation

Some wise men from the East arrive in Jerusalem announcing that they have seen a star indicating there is a new king in Israel.

Herod is disturbed by this, so he gathers his advisers together and asks them where the Messiah is to be born. “In Bethlehem,” they say.

Herod then meets with the wise men and sends them to Bethlehem. He asks them to report back to him so he can worship the king too,

The wise men go on their way. The star guides them to Bethlehem, stopping over the very house where the child is. They worship Him and present gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh.

Application

The birth of the Messiah was the most anticipated event in the history of Israel, and the scribes, priests, and religious leasers missed it. They knew what the Scriptures had to say about this event, but they failed to see it when it happened.

Perhaps these people were too invested in the status quo. They were people of influence and had no need for a Messiah to come and mess things up.

Perhaps they were so jaded by prophetic expectations that the arrival of astrologers saying that a star indicated the Messiah had come was not enough to stir their interest.

It is still possible for us to miss what God is doing in our lives. We see a miracle and make up reasons to explain it away. We hear God telling us to step out, but we hold back because it means giving up too much.

Let us be attentive to the voice of the Spirit and brave enough to move out in faith at the right time.

Prayer

Father, please break through my hardness of heart, and speak to me about your plans for my life. I don’t want to miss it, Lord. Amen.

Reflection on Matthew 1:18-25

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded, and took Mary as his wife.

Observation

Joseph and Mary are engaged, but Mary becomes pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph is a good man, and he does not want to shame Mary publicly, so he decides to break the engagement quietly.

An angel appears to Joseph in a dream. The angel tells Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy is by the Holy Spirit. The baby is to be named Jesus as He will save His people from their sins.

So Joseph does what the angel told him to do, and he takes Mary as his wife.

Application

It must have been a huge shock and disappointment to Joseph to find out that his wife- to- be had been unfaithful to him. Then an angel appeared to tell him that all was not as it seemed.

The simple faith of both Mary and Joseph is instructive to us. They both just humbly obey God, regardless of the social norms and the possible consequences. They must have had many questions, but they moved forward in obedience.

When God calls us to do something, He has the consequences in hand. He will make it all work out according to His plans.

When we say “No” to God, we are effectively saying that we know better than He does. We know how to handle our lives and don’t need any directions from the Creator of the Universe.

Faith is the admission that we don’t have our lives perfectly ordered.

Faith is recognising that there may be a higher and better way that we have never considered.

Faith is saying “Yes” to God.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the example of Mary and Joseph. Please help me to always say “Yes” to you. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 2:8-20

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

The angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I bring good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Saviour- yes the Messiah, the Lord- has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David.”

Observation

An angel from the Lord appears to some shepherds minding their sheep near to Bethlehem. The angel tells them that the Messiah, the Saviour has been born. They will recognise Him when they see a baby lying in a manger.

A vast host of angels appears, praising God.

The shepherds decide to go and find out what is going on. They find Mary and Joseph with the baby lying in the manger.

So the shepherds tell everyone they see about what has happened.

Application

Shepherds don’t get angelic visitations- unless they have been drinking too much! How odd that the first witnesses to the coming of the Lord should be people of such ill repute.

Imagine if the local drug dealers were the people to see the angels.

These shepherds must have been wondering themselves how they came to be in this position. A whole army of angels. A tiny baby in a manger. The Messiah! The Lord!

The rulers didn’t see it! The priests didn’t see it! The religious leaders failed to understand it!

It was the shepherds who saw this thing.

This is encouraging for all of us. We don’t get overlooked by God because we don’t fit the picture of people’s expectations.

Any one of us can receive a revelation that will win nations to Christ.

It could be me.

It could be today.

Prayer

Almighty God, you reveal yourself to shepherds and princes alike. Please help me to see you and to know your presence. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 2:1-7

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first-born child, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no lodging available for them.

Observation

The Roman Emperor Augustus decrees that a census must be taken across the Empire. Everyone must go back to their ancestral town to be registered. Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem, the city of David.

While they are there, Mary’s baby is born. She wraps him in strips of cloth and lays him in a manger.

Application

God’s plans never pan out as we might expect them to. Even a theological degree is no guarantee of insight into the ways of the Lord. The scribes and all the learned men of Israel knew the prophecies about the Messiah, but even they missed Him.

Jesus, the Son of God, becomes flesh and He establishes His Kingdom in the world. This Kingdom is nothing like the kingdoms and empires of this world.

There is a hint of this in the fact that His birthplace seems to be dictated by the whims of the Emperor. In this first power play between Jesus and the world, it seems that the world is stronger- until you remember the ancient prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Mary and Joseph did the parenting thing as parents have done for millennia. It is all so humble and ordinary.

How could this baby in a manger possibly be the Son of God who defeats all the kingdoms of the world and even the power of evil?

Prayer

Lord, you chose to come to us in weakness and humility, as a child. The all-powerful God comes in such a tiny package. Holy Spirit, please help me to understand the mystery of Christmas. Amen.

Reflection on Exodus 27:1-28:43

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“Insert the Urim and Thummim into the chest-piece so they will be carried over Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence.”

Application

This is a beautiful picture of the High Priest carrying God’s will in his heart. The Urim and Thummim were used to determine God’s will in specific issues. They were part of the High Priest’s ceremonial clothing.

Jesus is our High Priest. He did not carry the Temple title or role, but the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives Him this title.

Out High Priest carried God’s will in His heart. Everything He did was to please the Father.

The night before He was killed to pay the price of our sin, Jesus prayed, Father if possible please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.”

We also are priests under the great High Priest. Therefore, the will of God should always be in our hearts. Above all other things, we should be wanting to say to God, “Not my will but yours be done.”

How do we live in the will of the Father? We must read the Bible daily to have God’s instruction in our heart. We must also cultivate the habit of listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Father, I desire in my heart to place your will over all other things. Please help me to make this a reality in my life every day. Amen.

Reflection on Exodus 26:1-37

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the Ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.”

Application

The Tabernacle, and later the Temple, had a graduated series of areas that kept sinful people away from the glorious presence of the Lord. So gentiles, women, men, and priests could only advance so far.

Only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and then just one each year on the Day of Atonement.

By contrast, we Gentiles, who were once far off, have been grafted into God’s people. And in Christ we can enter the Holy of Holies, the place of God’s presence, at any time.

We need no elaborate cleansing rituals and sacrifices. All of this has been done for us in Christ.

We are all priests in God’s kingdom. Therefore we have not only a privilege but a responsibility to draw near to God, to pray and interceded for the lost- not just one day a year, but every day.

The curtain of the Temple was torn at the time of Christ’s death. The barrier to entering the presence of the Lord is gone.

So let us enter boldly to the throne room of the King of Kings.

Prayer

Holy God, thank you for pulling down every barrier between you and me. Thank you that in Christ you have provided the sacrifice for my sins. Amen.

Reflection on Exodus 25:1-40

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“Be sure that you make everything according to the patterns I have shown you here on the mountain.”

Application

I have to confess that I don’t get very excited about the items in the Tabernacle. Some people get great revelations about the shape and design of the various items. I am not wired that way.

But Moses was told to make everything according to the pattern that God showed him on the mountain.

According to Ephesians, we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Therefore it is essential that we build our lives on God’s pattern.

This means that we are to be holy- dedicated to God’s purposes. All of our ambitions and plans need to be surrendered to Him.

It means we are to be obedient. When we receive guidance from the Holy Spirit, we should follow Him and not our own thoughts. When we read something in the Bible we should obey it.

We are meant to be clean. That means we should not indulge in sin.

The Tabernacle was the place in the wilderness where people met with God. We should be the places where people come and find the living God because of our words and lifestyle.

Prayer

Lord, please make me into a living holy vessel for your purposes. Amen.