reflection

Reflection on Hebrews 2:1-12

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Scripture

God, for whom and through whom, everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader to bring them into their salvation.

Observation

We must hold on carefully to the truth of salvation, otherwise we will drift away from the truth. God confirms the gospel through signs and wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We have been made a little lower than the angels, but we will have authority over all things. We see this already in the example of Jesus.

Everything was made for God, and He chose to bring many sons and daughters to glory. Jesus, as the first fruits of salvation, is the one who leads us into eternal life.

Application

God made all things by Himself and for Himself, and He chose to brings many creatures into His glory.

I was made by God and for God.

We live in an age of total individualism. Nobody feels any duty to have allegiance to any authority or institution. We obey the law out of fear of consequences, rather than because it is right to be obedient.

We are made for God’s good pleasure. Therefore we have a duty to try to please Him.

Our allegiance or loyalty is to God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

God’s plan from before creation was to raise many people to glory. He wants to share His glory with me.

The Creator, powerful and holy, shares His glory with me, a creature of spiritual weakness and a built-in tendency to sin. How great is God’s love that He should do this for me?

Prayer

Awesome, mighty God, I bow down and worship you. Your love for me is beyond my imagining. Thank you. Amen.

Reflection on Mark 9:38-50

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Scripture
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me.”

Observation
Some disciples tell Jesus that they saw a man casting out in His name and and they told him to stop doing it because he wasn’t a part of their group. Jesus tells them not to do this as anyone who is not opposed to them is for them.

It is better to rigorously remove sin from our lives, even removing parts of the body if necessary, than to maintain an intact body but go to hell.

Application
Tribalism is strong amongst christians. We love to criticise those whom we think are less pure in doctrine than we are. Google any famous preacher’s name, and there will be a host of hate pages criticising their ministry.

I don’t like Benny Hinn’s style. There are many things that he does that make me cringe. But he has led many people to the Lord, and God has used him to heal countless people. When I am walking in that level of power and authority I might have the qualification to correct him.

Too many people spend too much time pulling other christians apart. Jesus urges us to be more tolerant.

Does this mean that we cannot ever judge ministers? Is everyone who claims to speak for Jesus above correction?

Not at all. Every pastor, preacher, and indeed every christian, needs to be accountable to the Body in some way.

Rather than being critical of people we disagree with or are not part of our group, we must focus on our own ministry, sharing the Good News with the people God has called us to. Then we can leave the judging to Jesus.

Prayer
Lord, help me to be more open to brothers and sisters outside my “tribe” and to accept even those I choose to disagree with. Amen.

Reflection on James 5:13-20

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prayer

Scripture

Confess your sins to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Observation

Regardless of our situation we should pray. In hardship, pray. In happiness praise God. In sickness, get the elders to pray for you.

Confession and healing go together. Some sickness is caused by, or related to, sin. We should seek God’s forgiveness and then prayer for healing.

Righteous people pray powerful prayers. Elijah was just a man, but his prayers controlled the rain.

Application

One of the keys to receiving healing is to make sure that we are right with God. Nobody is perfectly righteousness and so, in that sense, we can be prone to attacks from the enemy at our weak places. Confessing our sins enables the Holy Spirit to work more effectively in our lives.

When we are right with God and walking in humble obedience our prayers release the grace of God in powerful ways.

Elijah listened to the voice of the Lord, and so he was able to command drought and rain. He didn’t do things presumptuously, but always in the context of a close relationship with God.

We must turn away from sin and pursue the Lord more passionately and more intentionally, so that we are able to be channels of His grace.

This is not a religious thing where we have to live in a certain way, constantly following rules laid down by somebody else. This is about loving our Father and wanting to be about His business.

Prayer

Lord, I confess my sins to you now. I ask for your forgiveness and for the ability to live in righteousness so that I can be an instrument of your grace. Amen.

Reflection on Mark 9:30-37

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Scripture
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Observation
Jesus and His close disciples go to a secret place so that He can spend some time teaching the,. They come to Capernaum, and He asks them what they were arguing about along the way. They do not want to admit that they were arguing about who was the greatest.

Jesus tells them that anyone who wants to be first must be last, the servant of all. He then takes a child and says that whoever welcomes a child in His name welcomes Him.

Application
The world often equates leadership with power- whether military, political, financial or positional power. Whoever can get to the top gets to write the rules and exercise power for their own ends.

In God’s kingdom, the power equation is reversed. We lead by serving, go higher by becoming lower, exercise authority by being the least.

This doesn’t make sense in the world, which is used to selfish leadership.

In a community in which the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another, the world’s rules must be reversed.

The world says, “Look after Number 1.” But God says, “Serve everyone else and trust me to provide what you need,”

Leadership comes when we serve others. Influence comes in helping people. It is not something we seek, for what we seek is to serve. In serving the opportunity may come to lead.

I used to joke that I spent three years at theological college to learn how to vacuum and wash dishes. The qualification for being a pastor, or any other christian leader, is not a college degree but a heart that serves in whatever way is necessary.

Prayer
Lord please help me to seek nothing more than to use my abilities to serve you and your people. Amen

Reflection on Proverbs 31:10-31

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Scripture

Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last,

but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

Observation

The book of Proverbs ends with a poem celebrating the ideal wife. A virtuous and capable wife is more precious than rubies.

The ideal wife is hard working, successful in business and able to order her household. She spins thread, makes clothes and always speaks wisely. She is truly a person of talent and integrity.

Application

While many women aspire to the title of “Proverbs 31 Woman,” and many men aspire to catch one, this is clearly an idealised version of an upper class woman in a very different setting to our own.

There are several qualities that women and men should still aim for in God’s grace.

1. To be virtuous. This is about doing what is good and godly as a reflex action. We no longer need to ask “What would Jesus do?” because following the way of Jesus has become automatic. In most situations we don’t need to pray because God’s way is evident to the one who has spent years seeking His will.

2. Work hard. Like being virtuous, this is not a popular ethic in our culture. We waste so much time being entertained, preferring to watch TV rather than study God’s word, for example.

3. Sacrificial love for our family. Because we are brought up to exalt selfishness, it can be difficult to walk in the way of sacrificial self-giving.

4. Wisdom in all things. Wisdom is knowing how to make life work effectively for ourselves and the people who look up to us.

These qualities do not come easily to any of us. They are grown in us as we seek to follow the Lord each day.

Prayer

Lord, may I become like the Proverbs 31 woman. Develop these qualities in me, I pray. Amen.

Reflection on Mark 8:27-38

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Scripture

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”

Observation

Jesus asks His disciples who people say He is. They offer various suggestions, and then Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter replies, “You are the Christ.”

Jesus then begins to teach them that He must be crucified. Peter begins to rebuke Him. Jesus tells Him, “Get behind me Satan!”

Jesus then tells the crowd that whoever wants to follow Him must take up their cross and deny themselves. If anyone is ashamed of Him now, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory.

Application

There is a stark choice that confronts every disciple of Jesus. Will I seek the comforts of the world or will I be faithful to Christ?

Jesus says that it is pointless to gain the whole world but to lose your soul.

The world offers many temptations and attractions. We might pursue a career that offers us a comfortable lifestyle. If this involves compromising the gospel or denying a call that God has on our lives, then it is the wrong choice and a futile reward.

What is the benefit of a million dollar lifestyle if we end up in hell? Surely the goal of this life is to prepare for eternity lived with God. To exchange eternal joy for a few years of fame and fortune is the height of foolishness.

My calling is to follow Jesus regardless of where He leads me. He promises that if I seek first Him and His Kingdom in all I do, then He will make sure my daily needs are met.

Given a choice between the call of Jesus and the pleasures of this world, Jesus always comes first.

Prayer

Lord, there are so many temptations and distractions in this world. Please help me to remain faithful to you always. Amen.

Reflection on Proverbs 1:20-33

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Scripture

“But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

Observation

Wisdom calls to all who will stop to listen. She calls to the crowds on the streets, appealing to fools and mockers to change their ways.

Wisdom has called out so often to no avail, so now she will give up and leave the fools to their fate. But all who listen to her will live in peace.

Application

In this passage, wisdom is personified as a woman calling out to people. The description here is in some ways similar to that of a prostitute in other places in Proverbs. Whereas engaging in illicit sex leads to ruin, engaging with Wisdom brings prosperity and peace.

Wisdom is a metaphor for devotion to the Lord. We are told in several Scriptures that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

To gain wisdom we must start by seeking the Lord.

When we do that we walk in peace- peace of mind and soul.

We live in a culture that is distinguished by fear. Political leaders and commercial interests promote fear for their own interests.

The person who trusts the Lord is not troubled by fear. We know that we are safe in His hands and our eternal destination is assured.

Jesus tells us not to be anxious for our heavenly Father knows what we need. We simply need to trust in Him.

Prayer

Thank you Father for the peace that comes from following you. Please help me to trust you in every circumstance. Amen.

Reflection on Mark 7:24-37

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mark7

Scripture

The people were absolutely beside themselves and astonished beyond measure. They began to declare, “Everything he does is wonderful! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Observation

Here we have descriptions of the healing of two Gentile people.

In the first, a Syrian Phoenician woman comes and pleads with Jesus to heal her daughter who is demonised. Jesus banters with her at first, seemingly to test her faith. He then declares that the daughter is healed.

In the second incident, a def and mute man is brought to Jesus and receives healing. The people are amazed at the power that Jesus has, and they declare that everything Jesus does is wonderful.

Application

Everything Jesus does is wonderful. That should be our testimony.

We can find sometimes that the pressures and disappointments of life can take our attention away from Jesus. Perhaps prayers go unanswered and we start to suspect that Jesus is less than wonderful.

Faith clings to Jesus and says hat everything He does is wonderful.

We must regain that sense of astonishment at a God who heals even deaf and mute people.

He healed the Gentile woman’s daughter; will He not heal my daughter? He healed a deaf man; will He not heal me of my affliction?

Everything Jesus does is wonderful. He still raises the dead, removes demons, gives life to sinners, and heals the sick.

All of these wonderful deeds are signs that the Kingdom of God is already here in our midst.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, everything you do is wonderful. I thank you for dying for my sins. I thank you for healings received in the past and healings to come in the future. You are awesome in grace and power. Hallelujah! Amen.

Reflection on Song of Songs 2:8-13

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song-of-songs

Scripture

My lover said to me,

“Rise up my darling!

Come away with me, my fair one!”

Observation

The young woman’s lover is coming over the mountains. He calls out to her, “Come away with me! It is spring and the flowers are springing up. Come away with me!”

Application

We have so many hang-ups with the Song of Songs today. Partly it is because the church generally does not do poetry well, tending to be literalistic when it comes to the Bible. Also our culture is entirely obsessed with sex and cannot make a distinction between romantic love and sex.

So here we have an entire book of the Bible that is one long poem about romantic love, and our brains freeze!

If we see the man in the poem as representing Jesus and the woman as His church, and use our imagination, then we can see something beautiful in this passage.

The man- the lover- comes from a long way to pursue his love and invites her to come away with him.

Jesus has done just that. He came “across the mountains” into the place of our captivity to sin. He showered us with His blessings and invited us to come away with Him.

God’s love always comes first, and we respond. He loved you before you were born, before the world began. He set about wooing you, inviting you to respond to His love,

The call, whether you knew it or not, was to a journey. The flowers are blooming and the birds are singing, and His invitation to you is “Come away with me!”

He promises to never abandon you. Just walk with Him on this journey and He will be with you always.

Prayer

Thank you Lord Jesus for your never-failing love, for the grace that empowers us for the journey of faith. Please help me to trust you and to receive your love. Amen.

Reflection on John 6:51-58

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bread-wine

Scripture

“Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.”

Observation

Jesus is the living bread from heaven and He gives eternal life to all who eat of Him. To have eternal life, we must eat His flesh and drink His blood.

Anyone who eats His flesh and drinks His blood remains in Christ and Christ remains in them.

Application

The language in this passage can be hard for us to decode because it is so foreign to us.

Jesus is saying that He is the bread from heaven which gives eternal life. This is a reference to the manna which came to the children of Israel in the wilderness and fed them for forty years.

This manna was a shadow of the real thing- Jesus who gives us eternal life.

Jesus says we must eat His flesh and drink His blood to receive eternal life.

One application of this is that we must enter into an intimate relationship with Him so that we remain or abide in Him and He abides or remains in us.

This is a process of discipleship that leads to our lives being totally identified with the life of Christ. We must live in daily prayer, that is open sharing with Him with no hiding or pretending. We must meditate on the Word so that the Scriptures change us. Our focus must become God’s will not our own will.

Bread and wine also remind us of Holy Communion. We need to live in a worshipping community of faith. The sacrament is a physical sign of our desire to experience Christ more closely. As a body we can encourage and exhort each other to be more faithful in our walk together.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you are the true bread of heaven. Teach me how to feast on you and to let your life fill me in every way. Amen.