29 May

At the end of his life, Sir Winston Churchill said, ‘When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened!’

I love the way Eugene Peterson translates this passage in The Message: ‘Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I will show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly’ (vv.28–30).

As Corrie Ten Boom pointed out, ‘Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.’ David praises God ‘who daily bears our burdens’ (v.19). Burdens here may include many things. One of the burdens that God bears for us daily is the weight of worry, stress and anxiety.

In his book Affluenza, the psychologist Oliver James points out that ‘almost a quarter of Britain suffers serious emotional distress, such as depression and anxiety, and another quarter are on the verge thereof. Put bluntly, half of us are in a bad way... those earning over £50,000... were recently shown to be more prone to depression and anxiety than those earning less.’

 Peter realised, as most of us do from time to time, that he had failed Jesus. A sense of failure can be a great burden.

This passage is not the end of Peter’s story. After his resurrection, Jesus met with Peter and reinstated him, forgiving him for this failure and commissioning him once more (21:15–25). With Jesus, failure is never final.

Although Peter failed him, Jesus took the burden of his failure, forgave him, reinstated him and used him as powerfully as anyone in human history.

28 May

 When God calls you to follow him, he does not call you to a life of ease. Life on earth involves many battles, in all of which God promises you victory through Jesus Christ. There is never going to be a moment in your earthly life when everything is perfect. There are always going to be challenges, difficulties and problems to solve. However, there are times when these intensify and we seem to be coming under attack.

Martin Luther King said that the ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in ‘moments of convenience’, but where they stand in ‘moments of challenge, moments of great crisis and controversy’.

As Joyce Meyer puts it, when trouble comes do you ‘run to the phone’ or do you ‘run to the throne’? David had learnt at this stage of his life the vital importance of enquiring of the Lord before making decisions. When he was under attack again and again ‘David went in prayer to God’ (vv.2,4, MSG). In this way, attacks can actually draw you closer to God.

27 May

In Buchenwald concentration camp, 56,000 people were put to death by a totalitarian regime that saw the Christian faith as a threat to its ideology. One block of cells in the camp was reserved for prisoners who were deemed especially dangerous or notable. Paul Schneider, a Lutheran pastor who was called ‘the preacher of Buchenwald’, was placed in this special block because even from the small window in his cell he loudly proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ – in defiance of the orders of the Gestapo guards.

Otto Neururer, a Catholic priest whose work on behalf of the Jews and other so called ‘undesirables’ had made him a threat to the Nazi warlords, was also put in this block. He too ministered in Jesus’ name to his fellow inmates in the concentration camp until he was crucified upside down.

In unity, these two men, one a Catholic and the other a Protestant, bore witness together to their common Lord – Jesus Christ. Unity is so powerful.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

26 May

 One of the ways to honour the name of the Lord is to love and serve the marginalised: widows and orphans, the lonely, the homeless and those in prison.

The Holy Spirit will convince the world about guilt (supremely because ‘people do not believe in’ Jesus, v.9), and ‘he will guide [us] into all truth’ (v.13a). Every time we go off track or in the wrong direction, the Holy Spirit convicts us. We sense in our spirit that what we are doing is not right.

The Holy Spirit never condemns us (Romans 8:1). He convicts us to repent and then to go in the right direction. He guides, sustains and strengthens you to become more like Jesus.

He guides you into all truth. Truth is revealed by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13a). Among other things, he reveals the truth about you. The truth sets you free.

The most important gift that you receive from the Holy Spirit is a relationship with God. In this prayer Jesus highlights this as the true heart and definition of ‘eternal life’ – ‘this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’ (17:3).

 Jesus promises you three things:

• Joy – in the midst of mourning and grief
  ‘I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy’ (v.20). Justice will prevail. Evil will not have the last word. When Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples’ joy was so great that it completely overshadowed their grief – like a mother who has given birth to a baby and forgets the anguish of the birth (vv.21–22).
• Love – in the midst of hate
  You are loved. Even when ‘the world hates you’ (15:18), Jesus says to you that ‘the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God’ (16:27). The Spirit of Truth will reveal the Father’s total love for you.
• Peace – in the midst of trouble
  Jesus never promised you a trouble free life. Indeed, he says that in the world you will experience ‘tribulation and trials and distress and frustration’ (v.33, AMP). But he promises you ‘perfect peace and confidence in the midst of these trials’ because he has ‘overcome the world (I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you)’ (v.33, AMP).

At first, David tried to face Goliath in Saul’s armour. Then he realised, ‘I cannot go in these… because I am not used to them’ (v.39). So he took the armour off. He decided to be himself. This is such a lesson in life. It is no good putting on someone else’s armour. It always looks artificial and unnatural when we try and present ourselves as if we are someone else.

There is great power in authenticity. Oscar Wilde said, ‘Be yourself; everyone else is already taken!’ You are at your most effective when you are being yourself. As St Catherine of Siena put it: ‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.’

You may face great opposition. The world you live in can seem enormously powerful and overwhelming. You may feel weak and pathetic in contrast. But go out in God’s name – realising your limitations and yet trusting in him to vindicate his name. Because the Lord was with David he was successful in everything he did (18:5,12,14).

David’s success provoked anger and jealousy from Saul (vv.8–9). As Joyce Meyer points out, ‘God always puts us around someone who is like sandpaper to smooth off our rough edges… a testing that takes place before we get promoted. If you want to lead you must first serve in circumstances that may not be ideal and learn to behave wisely. This prepares us to be greatly used by God.’

God gave David more success. Interestingly, because of his concern for God’s name, David’s ‘name became well known’ (v.30). But that was not his aim or intention, or the focus of his life.

25 May

Goliath was a giant. He was nine-feet tall, a champion, wearing heavy armour, standing and shouting, defying the people of God (1 Samuel 17:1–11). As well as physical giants, there are metaphorical ones. A ‘giant’ is a big, seemingly insurmountable problem or issue.

• ‘Personal giants’ could include giant personal challenges in relation to your health, marriage, family, relationships or lack of relationships, job or lack of job, other work issues, or some sin, temptation, addiction, fear, loneliness, discouragement or debt.
• ‘National giants’ in the UK include knife crime, homelessness, the breakdown of marriage, family life and community, exploding prison populations, failing schools and the decline of churches. There is therefore the giant task of evangelising the country, revitalising the church and transforming our society.
• ‘Global giants’ include extreme poverty (as a result of which 30,000 children die each day), preventable disease (millions dying of diseases for which we have a relatively easy cure), the need for universal primary education (almost one billion people unable to read) and the need for worldwide water sanitation (which could be funded by the amount of money that Europeans spend on ice-cream every year).

There are two possible attitudes when facing a giant. One is to say, ‘It’s so big, there’s nothing I can do.’ The other is to say, ‘It’s so big, I can’t miss!’

Jesus says that if you stay close to him (‘remain in him’) three things will happen in terms of fruitfulness. First, your prayers will be answered (v.7). Second, God will be glorified (v.8). Third, your joy will be complete and overflowing (v.11, AMP).

Jesus wants you to be filled with joy and fully alive. There’s no greater joy than to know you are valued, precious and loved by God and to love others as you are loved. There’s no greater joy than giving eternal life to others in and with Jesus.

 First, there is pruning (vv.1–2). The purpose of pruning is so that you can bear even more fruit. Pain, sorrow, sickness and suffering, loss, bereavement, failure, disappointment and frustrated ambition are some of the ways your life is pruned.

Pruning looks very cruel, sometimes leaving only a jagged stump to face the harsh winter. But we are pruned for something new and when spring and summer return, there is an abundance of fruit. The sharp pruning knife will after all bring fruitfulness and blessing.

The second secret of fruitfulness is closeness to Jesus (v.4). You cannot take on the giants by yourself. Jesus says, ‘When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing’ (v.5, MSG). You will only succeed in tackling the giants if you stay close to Jesus.

The lesson we learn here is not to be put off if rejected or ill-treated. As Joyce Meyer writes, ‘God is not looking for someone with ability but someone with availability… keep your heart pure by refusing to allow hatred, offense, bitterness, resentment or unforgiveness to stop you.’

 

24 May

In his most recent book, How the Mighty Fall, he examines the path towards doom. The first stage of the process begins with ‘hubris born of success’. As with Saul in the Old Testament passage for today, it is arrogance that begins the process by which the mighty fall. Saul started well but did not finish well.

It is more important to finish well than to start well. In the New Testament, Saul (of Tarsus) started off very badly (as a persecutor of Jesus) but he finished well (as the great apostle, Paul).

Jesus, as always, shows us the way. His life was relatively short. He died in his early thirties, yet he finished well. He completed the work the Father gave him to do (John 17:4). This is my ambition in life. I want to complete the work God has given me to do.

What does a righteous life look like?

• Listen to parental advice
  ‘A wise child heeds a parent’s instruction’ (13:1). Honouring parents is high on the list of God’s priorities. Family life and good parenting are so important. I recommend The Parenting Book by Nicky and Sila Lee.

• Guard your lips
  ‘Those who guard their lips guard their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin’ (v.3). It is impossible to overestimate the importance of your words and of controlling the tongue.

• Work hard
  ‘The desires of the diligent are fully satisfied’ (v.4). Work is a blessing. Success can be hard work. It requires diligent perseverance. Winston Churchill said, ‘Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’
• Love the truth
  ‘The righteous hate what is false’ (v.5). We are to hate dishonesty and love the truth. Mark Twain once said, ‘If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.’
• Be a person of integrity
  ‘Righteousness guards the person of integrity’ (v.6). Integrity does not mean being perfect. It means being honest, real and authentic (it is the opposite of hypocrisy). In his book, Integrity, the clinical psychologist Dr Henry Cloud writes that integrity ‘is the key to success. A person with integrity has the – often rare – ability to pull everything together, to make it all happen no matter how challenging the circumstances.’

How is all this possible? The way in which Jesus passes on his legacy to you is through the Holy Spirit. He will send the Holy Spirit (the paraclete) to live in your heart: ‘The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you’ (v.26, MSG). The Greek word parakletosl iterally means ‘one called alongside’. It has a multifaceted meaning – counsellor, advocate, comforter, encourager, helper, someone to stand by you, he who is to befriend you. A mother is a paraclete for her child. She takes away the anguish of loneliness. She brings presence, security, peace and communion.

The Holy Spirit now lives in us to give us new strength and new love – so that we, the church, can continue the mission of Jesus to the world.

Jesus had thought it through very carefully and had made a great succession plan!

23 May

Love is more than a feeling or an emotion. It is a decision about how we treat one another. Jesus was the supreme example of love in the history of the world. He tells us to love God, to love one another (John 13:34–35), to love our neighbour as ourselves and even to love our enemies. He demonstrates all this in his own life through loving everyone (even Judas who betrayed him as we see in today’s passage), and laying down his life for us all in love. 

If there is sin in the past, you can confess it and repent of it and be forgiven. What really blocks our relationship with God is if we deliberately plan to sin in the future. Then we cannot come into God’s presence with a clear conscience. This blocks the experience of his love.

Nothing is more of a hindrance to the message of Jesus than a lack of love between Christians. If our nations are to be changed, if people are going to turn back to following Jesus, we must start loving one another. This means loving Christians of different churches, denominations, traditions and different views to us.

It means loving one another in the local church. Disunity destroys. Love unites. Love attracts others to the person of Jesus. Loving God and loving one another in Jesus’ name must be our overall ambition above all others. That is the kind of love that can change the world.

Jesus sets before us this amazing challenge: ‘As I have loved you, so you must love one another’ (13:34). Jesus loved you by laying down his life for you. He says that you are to follow his example and show self-sacrificial love. This is the mark of a true Christian. ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’ (v.35).

 Love is the most effective form of evangelism. When people see real love they see God. The best way to start to tell people about Jesus is to love them and to love other followers of Jesus.

Generally, in the world, people get into groups with people they are naturally attracted to and who think the same way as them. We are meant to be quite different. The church of Jesus Christ brings us together with a variety of people from different backgrounds, of different interests, different ages, ethnicities, races, perspectives, lifestyles, opinions and different views: all who love one another.

Saul failed. God had told Saul to wait until Samuel arrived. When Samuel was delayed, the people became restless. Saul cared more about what the people thought than what God thought. He became impatient and panicked (vv.6–12), just as we so often do. Learn to be more patient – to wait for God to act – and not panic if little things go wrong. Do not rush into rash decisions in the heat of the moment.

Jonathan, on the other hand, trusted ultimately in God’s love. He said ‘Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few’ (14:6).

22 May

When he had finished washing their feet, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ (v.12). What was it all about? What were they to understand? We can see four pictures from the passage:

• Love
  The act of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet demonstrated ‘the full extent’ of his love (v.1). This is a very striking contrast to what the world thinks of when people use the word ‘love’. It is far more than a feeling or an emotion; it is a decision to treat people the way that Jesus would treat them (vv.14–15).
• Service
  The roads of Palestine were unsurfaced and uncleaned. In dry weather they would have been inches deep in dust. In wet weather they would have been liquid mud.
  
  In a wealthy household, on arrival there would be a bowl at the door. The second lowest slave of the household would untie the sandals. The lowest slave would wash the feet.
  
  Whilst the others are reclining, Jesus gets up, takes off his sleeveless tunic and strips down to a loincloth. Like a slave, he starts washing their feet. Jesus is taking the place of a person at the bottom of society, the last place, the place of a slave – the one who does the dirty jobs. This is a total reversal of the world’s model of leadership.
  
  Jesus, their ‘Lord and Teacher’ (v.14), reveals himself as the least one in society, the one who does the dirty jobs, the one who is in the last place.
  
  Jesus shows us that if we love people, we will be willing to serve them and that those who serve should always be treated with the greatest respect.
• Humility
  Jesus uniquely combined absolute love (v.1) and absolute power: ‘The Father has put all things under his power’ (v.3a). In love he chose to act in humility and serve his disciples.
  
  Those who seek their own glory (like Judas, v.2) are reduced to nothing. Those who exalt themselves are humbled. Those who humble themselves, God will exalt.
  
  Jesus reveals a new way of exercising authority through love, service and humility. In this dramatic way, he bridges the gap between those in leadership and those under their leadership.
• Forgiveness
  The washing and cleansing is a sign of forgiveness – cleansing from sin. Foot-washing is a picture of what Jesus is about to do on the cross for them (v.7). Through Jesus’ death for you, you are totally forgiven. Why then does Jesus teach us to pray regularly for forgiveness?
  
  I find the most helpful analogy and picture is the one given here. When Jesus moved to wash Peter’s feet, Peter said, ‘“No, you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me”’ (v.8). Peter replied, in effect, ‘Well, in that case, wash my whole body.’ Jesus said, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean’ (v.10).
  
  This is a picture of forgiveness. When you put your faith in Jesus you are made totally clean and you are forgiven – everything is dealt with. You do not need to repeat this one-off act of repentance and faith that leads to total forgiveness. It is the equivalent of having a bath.
  
  However, as we go through the world we do things that tarnish our friendship with God. Your relationship is always secure but your friendship is sullied with the dirt that you pick up on your feet. Each day pray, ‘Lord, forgive me, cleanse me from the dirt.’ You don’t need to have a bath again, Jesus has done that for you, but a measure of cleansing may be necessary every day.

Don’t get so bound up with your own needs and worries that you fail to pray for others. It’s very important that we pray for one another.

The passage for today ends with Samuel telling the people to ‘consider what great things he has done for you’ (v.24). Whatever else is going on in your life, look back, consider and celebrate your forgiveness, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the promise of glory and all the other great things God has done for you.

21 May

Winston Churchill once said: ‘Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’

Governments have their ups and downs. Our politicians are human beings with human weaknesses like our own.

The victory of Jesus came not through military force but through his self-sacrificial death, which defeated the demonic powers (v.31). The death of Jesus signifies judgment on the world, the overthrow of evil, the glorification of Jesus and a drawing of all people to him.

Here, indeed, was a different kind of victorious king. Jesus not only fulfilled the prophecies about the messianic King, he also fulfilled the prophecies about the suffering servant. He brought the two lines of prophecy together.

One day Jesus will return as the triumphant King to rule and reign for all eternity. In the meantime, you are called to be light in the darkness. If you live under the leadership of Jesus ‘then the light will be within you, and shining through your lives. You’ll be children of light’ (36, MSG).

God had planned that his people would be different from others. He planned a society in which God himself was the King. But Israel wanted to be like everyone else. Direct rule of God only works when the people are wholly devoted to God. If not, it results in the chaos we saw in Judges. It is better to have a human king than no king at all. We might list the preferences like this:

1. God as King: The situation God wanted – his perfect will
2. A human king: The situation God allowed – his permissive will
3. No king: The situation in Judges – chaos

The people of God rejected his rule. The Lord says, ‘they have rejected me as their king’ (8:7). The people ask for a king. They say, ‘appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have’ (v.5).

Samuel warns them that human governments are weak and fallible. Power corrupts. Samuel warns that the king who will rule over them will take some of their families, land, possessions and employees and use them for his own benefit and that of his inner circle (vv.11–16).

Samuel’s sons did not walk in his ways. Samuel had led so many people in the ways of God. How sad that his sons were not among them. We need to pray particularly for children of Christian leaders.

Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” 

20 May

They meant it for evil. God meant it for good. Caiaphas (who was high priest from AD 18 – AD 36) prophesied, ‘It is better for you that one person die for the people than that the whole nation perish’ (v.50). God is able to speak through an unwitting agent.

The extraordinary thing about this passage though is the way in which we see God’s hand at work through it all. Despite opposition and wrongdoing, God’s ultimate plan was still fulfilled. What Jesus’ opponents meant for evil, God used for good.

The path to deliverance often begins when we return to the Lord with all our heart. Samuel said, ‘“If you are truly serious about coming back to God, clean house. Get rid of the foreign gods and fertility goddesses, ground yourselves firmly in God, worship him and him alone, and he’ll save you from Philistine oppression.” They did it. They got rid of the gods and goddesses, the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and gave their exclusive attention and service to God’ (7:3–4, MSG).

The first thing you need to do in your life when you are seeking God’s presence and help is remove anything that is drawing your attention and focus away from God.

After the return to the Lord there was a need for a period of confession and repentance, which was shown by their fasting: ‘On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.”’ (v.6).

Finally, it was Samuel’s intercession and persistence in prayer for twenty years that brought the people of God victory. Samuel said, ‘I will intercede with the Lord for you’ (v.5). They said, ‘Pray with all your might! And don’t let up! Pray to God, our God, that he’ll save us from the boot of the Philistines’ (v.8, MSG). Samuel ‘cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him’ (v.9).

They recognised it was an amazing answer to prayer: ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us’ (v.12). They were delivered from the power of the Philistines and there was peace in the land (v.13).

God never forgets a single prayer you pray, even though you may forget. Things may have happened to you today as a result of prayers that you prayed years ago and you have forgotten all about them. But God is still working on them in his timing. Keep stacking up the prayers. Persevering prayer prevails.

19 May

Christianity is the largest movement of all time. It is the only one that never loses a member through death. I remember one of my sons, when he was a little boy, saying, ‘When you die, I’ll be sad. Then I’ll see you in heaven and I won’t be sad anymore!’

Mother Teresa was asked shortly before her death, ‘Are you afraid of dying?’ She said, ‘How can I be? Dying is going home to God. I have never been afraid. No, on the contrary,’ she said, ‘I am really looking forward to it!’

Do you realise that God wants to speak to you? You can say, like Samuel, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening’ (3:9).

18 May

The spiritual emptiness that Bernhard Langer is describing is common to all humanity. One young woman said to me that she felt there was ‘a chunk missing in her soul’. 

You are not simply body and mind. You are a soul created for relationship with God. How then do you satisfy your soul?

Spiritual ‘food’ is just as real as physical food and it satisfies us in a way that cannot be satisfied by anything physical.

David was in the desert. He knew what physical thirst and physical hunger were like. But he also knew and experienced spiritual thirst: ‘My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water’ (v.1). And he knew what it was like for his spiritual hunger to be satisfied: ‘My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods’ (v.5a).

His spiritual hunger and thirst are satisfied as he worships God: ‘So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength and glory’ (v.2, MSG).

He lifts his hands as an expression of adoration, reverence and surrender: ‘Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands’ (vv.3–4). Lifting up hands is the oldest gesture of prayer. As Pope Emeritus Benedict writes, ‘This gesture is the radical form of worship... To open oneself to God, to surrender oneself completely to him.’

What do you do when you can’t sleep or you have wakeful moments in the night? David says that he worships and praises God, ‘I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches’ (v.6, AMP).

As he pours out his heart in worship day and night to God, David discovers strength and support. He writes, ‘Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me’ (vv.7–8).

Jesus communicated with his disciples and he continues to communicate with us. He says, ‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me’ (v.27). We see here the marks of a true Christian:

• Believing in Jesus
  There is a contrast in this passage between those who ‘believed in Jesus’ (v.42) and those who ‘do not believe’ (vv.25–26). Belief in Jesus means believing in him when he says, ‘I am God’s Son’ (v.36) and putting your trust in him.
• Knowing Jesus
  Jesus says, ‘my sheep listen to my voice. I know them…’ (v.27). To be a Christian is to recognise and follow the voice of Jesus. This is what defines a Christian – not so much knowledge about Jesus, but actually knowing him. This is then followed up by the wonderful declaration that Jesus also knows us.
• Following Jesus
  Jesus says, ‘they follow me’ (v.27). It affects your life. As Jesus said elsewhere, ‘By their fruit you will recognise them’ (Matthew 7:16,20). James wrote, ‘Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead’ (James 2:17). The primary evidence of faith is love. Those who follow Jesus will follow his example of love.

There may be many struggles and temptations along the way, but ultimately the hand of Jesus and the hand of the Father are engaged together in protecting you. A Christian may lose their job, their money, their family, their liberty and even their life, but they can never lose eternal life.

Hannah’s prayer after Samuel’s birth is a vivid demonstration of the soul satisfaction that she experiences through her relationship with God. She prays and thanks God that ‘those who were hungry hunger no more’ (v.5).

The amazing thing in Hannah’s prayer is that the supreme source of her joy is not her child, but in the Lord. She says, ‘My heart rejoices in the Lord’ (v.1). He is the source of soul satisfaction:

‘I’m walking on air... God brings life... he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, restoring dignity and respect to their lives’ (vv.1,6,8, MSG).

17 May

• What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight, and contentment, than anything else? Knowledge of God…
• What were you made for? To know God.
• What aim should you set yourself in life? To know God.

These are the questions J. I. Packer raises at the start of his influential book, Knowing God. Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father’ (John 10:14).

Knowing and trusting God leads to:

• Soul-rest
  In the midst of all your fears and anxieties you can find peace: ‘My soul finds rest in God alone… Find rest, O my soul, in God alone’ (vv.1,5)
• Salvation
  Salvation comes by faith in God: ‘My salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation… My salvation and my honour depend on God’ (vv.1b–2a,7a)
• Security
  Everything else in life is uncertain, and ultimately insecure, but God ‘is my fortress, I shall never be shaken… he is my mighty rock, my refuge’ (vv.2b,6b–7b)

• Be assured of God’s love for you
  Jesus also contrasts the good shepherd with the ‘hired hand’ who, when the wolf attacked the flock, runs away because he cares nothing for the sheep (vv.12–13).
  
  On the other hand, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (vv.11,15). This is entirely voluntary: ‘The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord’ (vv.17–18). If you ever doubt that God loves you, you simply have to look at the cross: Jesus laid down his life for you.
  
  Jesus came to give his life on the cross to take away all the blocks that prevent you knowing and being in communion with God as your Father.
• Learn to listen to his voice
  It is in the instinctive nature of sheep to recognise the shepherd’s voice. ‘The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice’ (vv.3–4).
  
  The more you get to know Jesus, the more you will get to discern whether it is his voice rather than the deceptive voice of the wolf.
• Know that you have eternal life
  The one you know not only dies for you but he also rises from the dead for you. He has the power to take his life again: ‘I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again’ (v.18b). He gives you eternal life.
  
  Jesus later defines eternal life like this: ‘Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’ (17:3).

John 10:10

‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’

16 May

What I love most is his answer when he finally gets frustrated by all their scepticism and cynical questioning. He tells them he does not know the answer to all their questions, ‘But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind before, now I see’ (v.25, AMP).

As his eyes are opened, so too are his heart and his mind. He begins by knowing ‘The man they called Jesus’ (v.11). Then he sees him as ‘a prophet’ (v.17) ‘from God’ (v.33). Finally, he believes he is ‘the Son of Man’ and worshipped him (v.38).

This is the power of the testimony. It is an almost unanswerable way of dealing with objections: ‘Before I was like this… and now I am like this… This is the difference that Jesus has made to my life.’

It is a reminder to us that the God of the universe and of history is also the God of all the little details in your life. He is not just almighty and powerful, but he is also your Father who is intimately concerned with you. Your life and all the details matter to God. Your life counts.

The book of Ruth reminds us of God’s care, provision and faithfulness in the little pieces of our life.

Naomi was more concerned for Ruth than for herself. Naomi wanted Ruth to return home so that she might have a better chance of remarrying and Naomi is prepared to lose Ruth for the sake of Ruth’s happiness (Ruth 1:8–13). Ruth’s love for Naomi was equally unselfish and self-giving.

15 May

• Freedom from guilt
  Jesus sets you free from guilt and shame. He died so that you could be forgiven and your guilt and shame could be taken away.
• Freedom from addiction
  He sets you free from addiction – being ‘a slave to sin’ (v.34). On the cross the power of addiction was broken. Although you may still fall from time to time, the power of the addiction to sin is broken when Jesus sets you free. While some may receive complete freedom from a specific addiction when they come to Jesus, for others it may be a longer process.
• Freedom from fear
  Jesus sets you free from fear. He came so that ‘by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death’ (Hebrews 2:14–15). Jesus says here, ‘I tell you the truth, whoever keeps my word will never see death’ (John 8:51).
  
  Death is not the end for those whom Jesus has set free. Rather it is the gateway to heaven. When Jesus sets you free from the fear of death, he also sets you free potentially from all other fears.
• Freedom to know God
  Jesus sets you free to have a relationship with God like his own. Jesus is the supreme example of a person who is led by God. He says of himself, ‘I heard from God’ (v.40). But he also goes on to say, ‘Whoever belongs to God hears what God says’ (v.47). It is possible for us all to hear from God.
  
  Jesus says, ‘I know him’ (v.55). He makes it possible for you to know God.
• Freedom to be yourself
  Jesus sets you free to be your true self as God intended you to be. He sets you free intellectually, morally and emotionally.
• Freedom to love
  Jesus sets you free to love (the opposite of the self-centredness of sin). This is true freedom: ‘if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’ (v.36).

14 May

Jesus says, ‘I know where I came from and where I am going’ (v.14). So many people struggle in life because they don’t know where they came from or where they are heading. They struggle with a lack of purpose and direction in their lives. In a close relationship with God, you can know where you came from and ultimately where you are heading.

Jesus’ relationship with the Father was also the source of his purpose and direction day by day. He says, ‘I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me’ (v.28). He says, ‘The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone’ (v.29a).

This is the model for us. God was with Jesus. Jesus knew he was never alone. There was not a single thing he did without God. At every moment his desire is to please God: ‘I always do what pleases him’ (v.29b). This is what gave his life such power and effectiveness. ‘Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him’ (v.30).

Not only was Jesus with God, he was God.

Twice in today’s passage Jesus says, ‘I am he’ (8:24,28). The words translated ‘I am he’ are the same words that are used in the Greek translation of Exodus 3:14–16. There, God revealed himself to Moses as ‘I AM WHO I AM’. This name came to express both the identity of God and the closeness of God to his people.

Jesus uses this name himself. We do not possess existence. We are born and we die. We receive our existence. Jesus is existence. He is telling the people that God has once again come near to them in him. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

It is as we look to the cross that Jesus says we have the clearest demonstration of his identity: ‘So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be.”’ (John 8:28).

Jesus had complete confidence in his own identity. The key to Jesus’ confidence and identity lay in his relationship with the Father. The same will also be true for you. As you spend time with the Father in prayer, in worship, or in reading the Scriptures, your sense of identity and confidence in who you are in God will grow. You can know where you have come from and where you are heading.

13 May

Jesus did not condone her adultery, nor did he regard it as the unforgivable sin. He demonstrated how easy it is to condemn others while being guilty of the same sins in our own hearts (vv.7–9). This can be applied to many areas of our lives. Before we criticise others it is worth asking ourselves whether we are ‘without sin’ in that area that we are about to criticise in another.

When we judge, accuse and condemn others, we project on to them what we refuse to see in ourselves.

As is often said, ‘People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.’ In the context of the debate about sexual ethics, as we look at our own hearts there is often a lot of glass around.

In the account of the woman caught in adultery, each of the condemners is convicted by Jesus’ words until eventually ‘only Jesus was left’ (vv.7–9). Jesus asks her, ‘Has no one condemned you?’ (v.10). When she replies, ‘No one, sir’, he says, ‘Then neither do I condemn you… Go now and leave your life of sin’ (v.11).

Guilt is a horrible emotion. Condemnation is a terrible state to be in. How amazing it must have been to hear the words of Jesus: ‘Then neither do I condemn you’ (v.11). Since he was without sin, Jesus was the one person there in a position to ‘throw stones’, but he did not.

There is an extraordinary balance and almost unique combination in the words of Jesus – full of wisdom and grace, mercy and compassion. Jesus could not be clearer that adultery is sin. Yet he does not condemn her in any way. This is the message of the New Testament. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). As a result of Jesus’ death for us on the cross, you and I are totally forgiven, however far we may have fallen.

It is easy to fall into one of two opposite extremes. Either we condemn people or we condone sin. Love does not condemn nor does it condone sin, because sin leads to people getting hurt. If we love, like Jesus, we will neither condone sin nor condemn people, but lovingly challenge people (including ourselves) to leave sin behind.

The Greek word for ‘to forgive’ also means ‘to liberate’. Jesus came to liberate us by the power of his Holy Spirit. We are liberated to love as God loves us. Forgiveness is at the heart of every relationship. It is the essence of love.

In the midst of his despair, Samson prayed to the Lord: ‘O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more’ (v.28). And God heard his prayer of faith. Even after all his failures, God still answered Samson’s cry. No matter what the situation, and no matter what you have done, it is never too late to turn back to God.

12 May

Robbie Williams once went on a shopping spree in Los Angeles. He bought seven cars, including a brand new Ferrari, a brand new Porsche and a brand new Mercedes. Within a week he wished he had not bought any of them. I admire Robbie Williams’ openness about himself. He is ruthlessly honest about his self-obsession and addictions. In his song, Feel, he sings: I just want to feel real love… There’s a hole in my soul You can see it in my face It’s a real big place. 

God implants this desire ‘to feel real love’ in humanity. This ‘hole in my soul’ is common to all human beings. It cannot be filled by cars, wealth, success or drugs. It is a God-shaped hole. It is a spiritual hunger and thirst for God which Jesus told us could only be filled by his wonderful Holy Spirit (John 7:37).  As Father Raniero Cantalamessa put it, ‘A Christian in whom the Holy Spirit dwells is not exempt from having to experience struggle, temptations, disorderly desires, rebellious feelings… [the difference is that all these things come] upon him against his will.’ They are on the surface. Yet there is a ‘peace in the depth of their hearts. That is like a deep-ocean current always flowing steadily regardless of the wind and the waves on the surface’.

11 May

If you want an easy life I don’t recommend following Jesus. It was not easy then. It’s not easy now. Alice Cooper, the rock singer said, ‘Drinking beer is easy. Trashing your hotel is easy. But being a Christian, that’s a tough call. That’s real rebellion. When Jesus speaks of eternal life, he is speaking of a quality of life that starts now and goes on forever: ‘life in all its fullness’ (10:10). This is the kind of life that the Holy Spirit brings. That is why, although there is a cost in following Jesus, the benefits far outweigh the cost. In fact, there is no real alternative. Do you ever get frustrated by the length of time God seems to take to answer your prayers? God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time.

10 May

Jesus taught about the centrality of faith. When asked, ‘“What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent”’ (vv.28–29).

We are called, primarily, ‘believers’, not ‘achievers’. The way we achieve is by first believing.

Jesus says, ‘I am the bread of life’ (v.35). When we are physically hungry we crave food. But as well as physical needs you have spiritual needs and a spiritual hunger. The bread Jesus is talking about is the Word made flesh, present with them as a friend. Jesus is offering us a personal, intimate, heart-to-heart relationship with him. It is the gift of his total person to each one of us.

Faith in Jesus fills the emptiness you experience and satisfies your spiritual hunger for purpose, permanence and pardon.

• Purpose
  Physical bread is not enough. Material things alone do not satisfy. Money, homes, cars, success and even human relationships do not satisfy our desire for ultimate purpose in life.
  
  The bread that does satisfy is the ‘bread of life’. This is not a commodity that Jesus supplies. He is the gift and the giver. The words, ‘I’ or ‘me’ appear thirty-five times in this discussion. ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’ (v.35).
  
  It is easy, even once you have put your faith in Jesus, to get caught up in material things or the trappings of religion. But it is actually only a relationship with Jesus that satisfies our spiritual hunger.
  
  The expressions, ‘Believe in me’ (v.29), ‘Come to me’ (v.35), ‘Look to the Son’ (v.40), ‘Eat my flesh and drink my blood’ (v.53 onwards) describe living in an intimately close relationship with Jesus.
• Permanence
  We are all going to die. Death is the great unmentionable reality. Jesus says this life is not the end: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever... I will raise them up on the last day’ (vv.51,54).
  
  Jesus promises to raise you up at the last day and that you will live forever. You can have absolute assurance that your relationship with Jesus will outlast death.
  
  There is both a present and a future dimension to this eternal life. They said, ‘From now on give us this bread’ (v.34). Jesus says it can be received immediately (v.35 onwards). Yet he also made clear that it will last forever (vv.50–51).
• Pardon
  Forgiveness is actually our greatest need. The atheist philosopher, Marghanita Laski, said, ‘What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness. I have no one to forgive me.’ We all want to know that we are pardoned for all that we have done wrong.
  
  Jesus said, ‘This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world’ (v.51). His blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. Every time you receive communion, you are reminded that Jesus gave his life so that you could be forgiven.
  
  How do you receive this bread? Jesus says, ‘I tell you the truth, whoever believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life’ (vv.47–48). While there is no separate account of Jesus’ institution of Holy Communion in John’s Gospel, here we see Jesus’ teaching on communion set in the context of faith.
  
  Among other things, communion is a visible sign that helps us receive Christ by faith (vv.53–58). It reveals and nourishes the friendship Jesus wants to have with us. It is a gift of his love and a sign of his desire to dwell in us all the time.

9 May

The world produces enough food to feed everyone. Yet 870 million people (1 in 8 of the world’s population) are suffering from chronic undernourishment. At the same time, around a third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes – gets lost or wasted. Individually and corporately we need to act urgently on Jesus’ instruction: ‘Let nothing be wasted’ (v.12).

What you give to Jesus, he multiplies. The apostle Paul wrote, ‘Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously’ (2 Corinthians 9:6).

Make it your aim to be the most generous person you know. Be generous with your money, your possessions, your time and your love. You cannot out-give God. The more you give the more you will harvest and the more you will enjoy the favour of God on your life.

 

8 May

 It was back in 1966 when England last won the football World Cup. Yet I can still remember the moment. As children, we were watching the match on a black and white television set. We could never get a very good picture; it was always fuzzy and going into lines. We were quite happy with it since we did not know anything different. One day, we discovered all it needed was an aerial! Suddenly, we found that we could get clear and distinct pictures. Our enjoyment was transformed.

Now, not only do we have colour television, we can get high definition (HD). There are no fuzzy lines or distortions, and it produces a richer, bolder and more vibrant picture than ever before.

Rather than black and white, or even colour, Jesus offers us high-definition life. There are two Greek words for ‘life’. The word ‘bios’, from which we get the word ‘biological’ means the condition of being aliverather than dead – mere existence. The other word ‘zoe’ means the full, abundant, spacious, open-hearted, richness of life that Jesus speaks about – a life of fulfilment and purpose. This is life in high definition.

 As Joyce Meyer writes, ‘Learning to worship God before the battle gets His attention, demonstrates our faith, and inspires us to boldly enter any challenge we face.’

Such was Gideon’s faith that he went into battle with only 300 men – each with a torch in one hand and a trumpet in the other (‘leaving no chance to use swords’, v.20, AMP). Faith and confidence was not in themselves but in God, who gave them a great victory.

Whatever battles you are facing today, put all of your confidence and trust in God instead of in your own ability to cope. Whatever God has asked you to do may seem impossible for you, but it is not impossible for him.

The life of Gideon is an inspiration. But there is also a warning. After his great victory, he became overconfident and failed to consult God. He thought of a nice idea and went ahead. It turned out to be a disaster. He made a golden ephod that became ‘a snare to Gideon and his family’ (8:27).

It is sad that, after all he did for God, Gideon did not pass on the ways of God to his children and the next generation. We need to finish well.

7 May

A water-bearer in India had two large pots, both hung on the ends of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot always arrived half full.

The poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water-bearer one day by the stream:

‘I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologise to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts.’

The bearer said to the pot, ‘Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’

Thankfully, God uses cracked pots! You do not need to be perfect for God to use you. We want our lives to count for something. If you want to be useful to God, here are twelve keys:

As John Wesley wrote, ‘Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.

Gideon is another example of God using cracked pots! Gideon said, ‘How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family’ (Judges 6:15). I often feel that God cannot use me because of my weaknesses. But sometimes God works through our weaknesses better than through our strengths.

Personally, I draw great comfort from the words of the apostle Paul: ‘Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me... For when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).

As Joyce Meyer says, ‘When fear knocks on your door, let faith answer!’

The secret of Gideon’s power was that ‘the Spirit of the Lord came upon [him]’ (v.34). Don’t be self-confident; be God-confident.

6 May

If you will reject self-pity, actively look to God and do what He instructs you to do, you can have a great life too.’

Deborah and Barak gave God the glory (vv.1–5). Again, Joyce Meyer points out that God ‘chooses to use and promote those who know they are nothing without him and who give him the glory and the credit for all their accomplishments. Every time you have a success in your life, remember to give God the glory’.

Deborah prayed that those who loved the Lord would be ‘like the sun when it rises in its strength’ (v.31b).

Lord, I pray today that I would be ‘like the sun when it rises in its strength’ (v.31b). May I bring light in a dark world; may I show people the way. Help me to bring warmth and energy, and to be strong, bold and fearless as the sun.

5 May

10 

Psalm 56

In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can man do to me?

12 I am under vows to you, my God;
    I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
    and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

He said, ‘My food… is to do the will of him who sent me’ (v.34). Jesus shows by the example of his ministry that our spiritual hunger, a life of emptiness and lack of purpose, can only be satisfied by doing God’s will. Nothing is more satisfying than doing God’s will – being where he wants you to be and doing what he wants you to do.

• Deliverance
  When they got into trouble they cried out to the Lord and he raised up judges ‘who saved them’ (v.16). The word translated ‘judge’ (shophet) has a wide meaning in Hebrew. It can also mean ‘deliverer’ – anyone who brings about justice, or sets things right.