27 July

Proverbs 18:7-16

This passage in Proverbs is full of practical wisdom. We need to guard our lips: ‘Fools are undone by their big mouths; their souls are crushed by their words’ (v.7, MSG). ‘Gossip’ is very tempting but to be avoided: ‘Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you really want junk like that in your belly?’ (v.8, MSG).

We need to work hard and not be ‘slack’: ‘Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism’ (v.9, MSG). It is foolish to rely on wealth: ‘The rich think their wealth protects them; they imagine themselves safe behind it’ (v.11, MSG). Pride leads to downfall: ‘Pride first, then the crash’ (v.12a, MSG). Humility leads to honour (v.12b).

There is also some very good advice to those hosting or helping on Alpha: ‘Answering before listening is both stupid and rude’ (v.13, MSG). ‘Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights’ (v.15, MSG).

In the midst of all this practical advice, there is a verse that ties in with today’s theme: ‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe’ (v.10). Not all are safe. Only those who run to the strong tower, which is ‘the name of the Lord’, will be saved.

Even here we find the roots of the teaching of the New Testament that those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

The Christian message is both exclusive, because Christ is the only name given for our salvation, and inclusive, because everyone in this world can call upon his name.

Jesus is easily accessible to all of us. ‘No precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah.’ Paul continues:

            ‘The word that saves is right here,
            as near as the tongue in your mouth,
            as close as the heart in your chest’ (vv.6–8, MSG).

26 July

There is only one way that they will be saved, and that is by faith, through ‘the righteousness that comes from God’ (v.3). This righteousness comes through Christ. ‘Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes’ (v.4).

‘Christ is the end of the law’ is a huge, groundbreaking, life-changing, history-making statement. There has been a great deal of debate about exactly what Paul meant. However, some things are clear.

• First, Jesus has set you free from seeking salvation through the law. No one can be saved by the law. No one, apart from Jesus, has ever managed to keep the entire law. ‘Christ is the end of the law’ in that he has set you free from trying to establish your own righteousness. Instead, you are now given ‘the righteousness that comes from God’ (v.3).
• Second, ‘Christ is the end of the law’ in that he has fulfilled the law. Jesus once described himself as having come to ‘fulfil the law’ (Matthew 5:17). The purpose of the law was to point us to Jesus (Galatians 3:24). Now Jesus has come, its role has been completed.
• Third, ‘Christ is the end of the law’ in that he has satisfied the law. Jesus was the only person who has ever fully kept the law, yet through the cross you receive the benefit of his obedience.
• Fourth, ‘Christ is the end of the law’ in that he has set you free from the burden and condemnation of the law. As we are constantly failing, we live life under a black cloud of condemnation. Because of Jesus, ‘there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1).

25 July

But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[h] 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

When God blesses we become satisfied (13:6a). When we are satisfied we become proud (v.6b). Then we forget God (v.6c). We see this cycle in our nation and in our own individual lives:

‘I took care of you, took care of all your needs,
   gave you everything you needed.
You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need me.
   You forgot me’ (v.6, MSG).

In spite of their sins, God promised redemption: ‘I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?’ (v.14, see also 1 Corinthians 15:55). Through Jesus, death has lost its power over our lives. When we return to God he promises we will flourish and blossom and that our fruitfulness will come from him (Hosea 14:7,8).

24 July

‘God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love,’ wrote St Augustine. If you were the only person who had ever lived, Jesus would have died for you. And if it is true of you, it is also true of me. God loves me and you. 

Life is not the random mess it may sometimes appear. ‘We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ (v.28).

In every detail of your life, God is at work. God will take even your errors and work them out for your good. He reigns. He is sovereign. In everything he works for the good of those who love him. Supremely, the cross demonstrates that just as God took the very worst event in history and turned it into the very best; he can take the worst things in your life and use them for good.

Romans 8:31-39

More Than Conquerors

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[c]

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[d] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of Godthat is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

23 July

It is to those who receive Jesus, to those who believe in his name, that he gives ‘the right to become children of God’ (John 1:12). You become a child of God not by being born, but by being born again by the Spirit. If Romans is the ‘Himalayas’ of the New Testament, then Romans 8 is its Mount Everest and its summit is these verses where Paul describes how those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God (Romans 8:14–17).

• Highest status
  There is no higher status than to be a child of God (v.14). Under Roman law, if an adult wanted an heir he could either choose one of his own sons or adopt a son who would take his name. God has only one begotten Son – Jesus – but he has many adopted sons and daughters. You have been adopted into God’s family. There is no status in the world that compares with the privilege of being a child of the Creator of the universe.
• Closest intimacy
  You have the closest possible intimacy with God. Paul says that by the Spirit we cry ‘Abba, Father’ (v.15). This Aramaic word may well have been the first word that Paul ever spoke, and the way in which he addressed his earthly father. Jesus used ‘Abba’ in speaking to God in a distinctive way. It expresses both deep respect and deep intimacy, and is perhaps best thought of as ‘Daddy’ or ‘Papa’. In large parts of the Middle East it is still the first word children are taught.
  
  As God’s child you are no longer a slave of fear but an adopted child of God (v.15). You can enjoy the closest possible intimacy with your Father in heaven.
• Deepest experience
  The Spirit gives you the deepest possible experience of God. ‘The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children’ (v.16). In the same way that I want my children to know and experience my love for them and my relationship with them, so God wants his children to be assured of that love and of that relationship. ‘God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are’ (v.16, MSG).
• Greatest security
  To be a son or daughter of God is the greatest security. For if we are children of God we are also ‘heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ’ (v.17a). Under Roman law an adopted son would inherit his estate.
  
  As children of God we are heirs. The only difference is that we inherit, not on the death of our father, but on our own death. You will enjoy an eternity of love with Jesus: ‘And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us – an unbelievable inheritance!’ (v.17, MSG).

22 July

The difference between the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of becoming a Christian is not that before, you sinned, and that after, you are sinless. No – the difference is that before becoming a Christian, sin was in character; it did not really worry you or me. Whereas after becoming a Christian, it is utterly out of character; you do not want to do it. It causes you pain and regret when you do. Not so much because you have let yourself down – although there is that. But because you want to be pleasing Christ – and you have failed him.

If you are like me, you know only too well this battle with sin. Please realise that that is a key mark of the genuine Christian believer.

As Paul cries out for help he already knows the answer to the question, ‘“Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!’ (v.25).

Perhaps, the key to understanding this passage lies in the two words ‘I myself’ (v.25b). On our own we are slaves to the law of sin but this is not the end of the story. Paul goes on to speak about the great liberation that the Holy Spirit brings to our lives.

As I look at myself as a Christian in terms of belonging to Christ, I realise that I am not free to sin. As I look at myself as a Christian in the world, I realise that I am not free from sin either. But as I look at myself as a Christian empowered by the Spirit, I realise that I am free to overcome sin. I am reminded of something John Newton wrote:

‘I’m not what I want to be.
I’m not what I should be.
I’m not what I one day will be.
But thank God I’m not what I once was.’

Hosea 6:6

‘For I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’

The dictionary says mercy is ‘compassion shown to enemies or offenders in one’s power’. Shakespeare said of mercy: ‘It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.’ Our world needs more mercy.

21 July

St Augustine wrote that God was the master ‘whom to serve is perfect freedom’. This is a great paradox. Many people think that if they serve God they will lose their freedom. In fact, it is the very opposite. Living for ourselves is, in fact, a form of slavery. Serving God ‘in the new way of the Spirit’ (Romans 7:6) is the way to find perfect freedom. 

There is a Thomas the Tank Engine cartoon that pictures Thomas on his side, having fallen off the train tracks. He is shouting, ‘I’m free! I’m free at last. I’ve fallen off the rails and I’m free!’ Of course, the reality is that Thomas is far more ‘free’ when his wheels are on the rails and he is operating in line with how he has been created to function.

It is the same with us. We might imagine that we are freer if we have no one telling us what to do other than ourselves, but this is a delusion for we find ourselves enslaved to sin – it leads to ‘a dead end’ (6:21 MSG).

Exactly how do we seek God?’ writes Joyce Meyer. ‘One way is to think about Him and consider what matters to Him and what He says about certain situations. When we seek Him, we find out much more about His answers to our problems. We also find joy, peace, love, wisdom and everything else we need in our lives. Let me urge you to seek him in every area of your life today.’

20 July

‘Hosea is the prophet of love,’ writes Eugene Peterson. ‘But not love as we imagine or fantasise it. He was a parable of God’s love for his people lived out as God revealed and enacted it – a lived parable. It is an astonishing story: a prophet commanded to marry a common whore and have children with her. It is an even more astonishing message: God loves us in just this way – goes after us at our worst, keeps after us until he gets us, and makes lovers of men and women who know nothing of real love.’

Hosea was prophesying shortly after the time of Amos (c.750–722 BC). His marriage to Gomer was a kind of analogy for Israel’s relationship with God. God spoke to Hosea and said:

‘Find a whore and marry her.
   Make this whore the mother of your children.
And here’s why: This whole country
   has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, God’ (1:2, MSG).

Israel’s mistake was to chase after things (food, wine, fashion, jewellery and perfume) rather than God (2:5,8, MSG). They failed to see it was God who provided these things. All he asks is that we should seek him first.

God’s answer is to frustrate us when we chase after things rather than him, by not allowing us to obtain the things on which we have set our hearts. He says:

 ‘She’ll go on the hunt for her lovers
   but not bring down a single one.
She’ll look high and low
   but won’t find a one’ (v.7a, MSG).

God longs for you to be living in a relationship with him as close as a husband and a wife. He says, ‘I am now going to allure her’ (v.14a). He takes her into a desert (this is so often the place where God’s voice is heard) and speaks tenderly (v.14). ‘“In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’… I will betroth you to me forever”’ (vv.16,19).

This foreshadows the relationship of Jesus to his church. God promises a new love relationship between him and his people (vv.19–20). They will know (acknowledge) the Lord.

19 July

It has been said that the biggest problem on earth is not too little democracy, or too much poverty, or too few anti-viral AIDS medicines, but the fact that two-thirds of the world’s population live outside the protection of the law. A lack of justice has a terrible effect on many of the world’s poor.

The themes of justice and grace flow through the Bible. We cannot fully understand grace without understanding justice. One definition of grace is ‘undeserved love’. There is a mnemonic used to explain grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We see today how Jesus Christ makes just grace available for you and me.

 As well as family and friends, fun is important: ‘A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired’ (v.22, MSG). Don’t take yourself too seriously. We need to laugh at ourselves. Laughter is like an internal workout. It exercises your soul and keeps it healthy.

The condition of the people was not unlike the condition of the people that we see in our society today. People are dying of spiritual hunger. There is ‘a famine of hearing the words of the Lord’ (v.11). People are searching – they try drugs, alcohol, sex, or power. All this is an attempt to satisfy that deep hunger, but they do not find spiritual food (v.12).
Romans 5:20b

‘Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.’

The Message translates this ‘but sin didn’t, and doesn’t have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace.’ I think that is why in prisons we often find so much faith and love; and transformed lives. The darker it is, the brighter the light shines.

18 July

God’s love has flooded your innermost heart. This experience of God’s love is deep and overwhelming. It is the regular ministry of the Holy Spirit to help you feel God’s love. If you have never had this experience of the Holy Spirit filling your innermost heart, I would encourage you simply to ask God to fill you now.

17 July

In the legal system of Ancient Israel, a dispute put both parties at risk of the judgment of the court. The court’s process had a redemptive role; the judge was meant to help the party in the right to correct the wrong. At the end of the case, one party would be declared righteousand the other in the wrong. Successful performance of this function meant ‘justice’ had been done. The Hebrew word for righteous is tsaddiq, which some versions of the Bible translate as ‘innocent’ or ‘just’ – one whose status is right. This is the Old Testament background to being ‘justified’.

The child’s definition of justified is ‘just as if I’d’ never sinned. Jesus died for our sins. If you put your faith in him then you are justified. You are acquitted. You are declared righteous in his sight. Sin no longer separates you from God. You can live in a right relationship with him and with others. This is ‘justification’.

The cross is effective throughout all time. Through what Jesus did on the cross, those who had never heard about him but put their trust in God were justified by their faith.

Do you need to understand all this in order to be justified by faith? Not at all. Justification is by faith, so you don’t even need a correct understanding of justification by faith to be justified by faith; you simply need faith. ‘This is why the fulfilment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God’s promise arrives as pure gift’ (v.16, MSG).

God is not interested in how ‘religious’ you are. He is far more concerned about integrity, justice and righteousness. Without that religiosity is sheer hypocrisy. He says:

‘I can’t stand your religious meetings.
   I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
   your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
   your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
   When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
   I want justice – oceans of it.
I want fairness – rivers of it.
   That’s what I want. That’s all I want’ (vv.21–24, MSG).

A central outworking of justification by faith is that God’s people respond by acting with righteousness and justice. John Calvin once said, ‘It is faith alone that justifies, but the faith that justifies can never be alone.’ Our natural response to what God has done for us should be to act in line with his will.

16 July

When Saint Augustine found the answer in 386, ‘a clear light flooded [his] heart’. Luther found the answerand a few years later the Reformation began, in 1517. When Wesley understood the answer in 1738, his heart was ‘strangely warmed’ and the seeds of a revival began.

In each case, their lives were radically changed through understanding ‘the righteousness of God’. The moment anyone comes to understand this expression, it changes their life. It certainly changed mine.

God has promised ‘peace’ (v.8) to his people. This does not necessarily mean outward peace. The pressures, difficulties, trials, battles and busyness may not disappear. But in all this, God has promised to give you his peace. This peace comes from listening to what ‘God the Lord’ says (v.8).

Peace is very closely connected with righteousness. The psalmist says, ‘righteousness and peace kiss each other’ (v.10b). In the same way that love and faithfulness go together (v.10a), so do righteousness and peace. Peace comes from living in a right relationship with God (Romans 5:1).

15 July

Jackie Pullinger has spent nearly half a century working with prostitutes, heroin addicts and gang members. I remember so well a talk she gave some years ago. She began by saying, ‘God wants us to have soft hearts and hard feet. The trouble with so many of us is that we have hard hearts and soft feet.’

Jackie is a glowing example of this, going without sleep, food and comfort, to serve others. God wants us to have soft hearts – hearts of love and compassion. But if we are to make any difference to the world, this will lead to hard feet as we travel along tough paths and face challenges. 

If you have a heart softened by God, you will inevitably demonstrate love towards others. Our aim should be to live a life that ‘promotes love’ (v.9a).

• Love the poor
  Your attitude to the poor reflects your attitude to God: ‘Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker’ (v.5a). As God’s people we are called to friendship with and service of the poor.
• Love your family
  God’s ideal is for you to enjoy close and loving relationships between parents, grandparents and children: ‘Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children’ (v.6).
• Love your friends
  Love between close friends is extremely valuable. Guard your friendships. This means not quickly taking offence or bearing a grudge: ‘Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and – good-bye, friend!’ (v.9, MSG).
• Love your critics
  Jesus told us, ‘Love your enemies’ (Matthew 5:44). A soft heart is willing to take criticism, whether it comes from a friend or even from an ‘enemy’. ‘A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool’ (Proverbs 17:10).
  
  Do your utmost to avoid arguments: ‘Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out’ (v.14).

14 July

‘Second Life’ describes itself as a place ‘to connect, to shop, to work, to love, to explore, to be different, to be yourself, to free yourself, to change yourself, to change your mind, change your look, to love your look, to love your life’.

This virtual world is clear evidence of the longing of so many for a fresh start. Yet, in reality, God is the God of the second chance and third chance, and fourth, and fifth, sixth and many, many more. He gives us countless chances to turn back to him and enjoy his love again. God doesn’t just give us a ‘second life’ – he comes to us and transforms our real life.

God is not wishy-washy. He hates sin. There is such a thing as righteous anger (v.5). It is one side of God’s love. But the psalmist knows that this righteous anger is not contrary to God’s unfailing love, and in this psalm we see both side by side.

God forgives: ‘You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people, you put their sins far out of sight… you cooled your hot, righteous anger’ (vv.2–3, MSG).

When you turn back to God he restores and revives you through his ‘unfailing love’ (v.7). The psalmist prays, ‘Restore us again… Will you not revive us again’ (vv.4,6).

God loves you. He wants the very best for your life. He does not want you to mess up your life. Sin takes us ‘on a dark spiral downwards’ (v.1, MSG). ‘God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change’ (v.4, MSG).

A judgmental mind focuses on what is wrong with others, rather than on what is right.

He recognised what we miss out on when we do not follow the Lord. ‘Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs’ (v.8). It is so easy to put our trust in something other than God. We can so often put our trust in the 'idols’ of money, success, fame or sex. Anything that takes you away from God prevents you from receiving the grace that can be yours.

There is no situation that God cannot rescue you from if you cry out to him.

One of God’s amazing characteristics is mercy. Mercy means being kind and good to people who do not deserve it. God has extended his mercy to you and me through Jesus Christ and his mercy never runs out.

13 July

Romans 1:18-32

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

As the worship of God declines, so the morality of a society declines, following in its wake. We should not be surprised that as the worship of God has declined in our nation, so many of the things described in this passage have followed in its wake.

If you want to keep the right perspective, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and keep worshipping and serving your creator.

12 July

Hans worked his way up from being a miner to owning a number of mines. His eldest son, Martin, was very bright and went to university at the age of seventeen. A respectable career as a lawyer lay ahead of him. Suddenly, to his father’s dismay, he cancelled his registration for the law course and became a monk and then a priest.

Martin wanted to live a righteous life. He fasted for days and spent sleepless nights in prayer, but he was still plagued by his own unrighteousness before a righteous God. Around the age of thirty, as he was studying Romans 1:17, the penny dropped. He later wrote:

‘I began to understand that in this verse the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous man lives by thegift of God, in other words by faith; and that this sentence, “the righteousness of God is revealed”, refers to a passive righteousness, ie, that by which the merciful Godjustifies us by faith, as it is written, “The righteous person lives by faith.” This immediately made me feel as if I had been born again andentered through open gates to paradise itself.’

This experience occurred 500 years ago. It not only changed his life, it altered the course of human history. He became one of the pivotal figures of western civilisation, the founder of the Reformation – the seedbed for social, economic and political thought. His name, of course, was Martin Luther.

In essence, righteousness means a right relationship with God, which leads to right relationships with others. It is a gift made possible through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Psalm 84:1-7

Dwelling in the presence of God is where the greatest blessings are found. This is one of mine and Pippa’s favourite psalms. We had it read at our wedding. We love it because it describes the blessings of living in a right relationship with God.

Longing for God’s presence
In every human heart there is a spiritual hunger, which can only be satisfied by living in a right relationship with God. In the presence of God, the soul’s longing (v.1, MSG) is satisfied and the heart’s cry is answered. The psalmist writes, ‘How lovely is your dwelling-place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God’ (vv.1–2).Blessing of God’s presence
As you spend time praying, listening to God through the Bible and worshipping him, you will find that there is no place you would rather be than in his presence. ‘Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you’ (v.4).

God’s presence is a place of blessing, praise and refreshment. It is like rain on thirsty ground (v.6).Strength from God’s presence
When our strength is in God (v.5), the difficult places, tough situations and the valleys of life can be turned into springs (v.6). As you draw your strength from God in these times, you will find yourself going from ‘strength to strength’ (v.7).

Psalm 84:7

‘They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.’

This is an encouragement to finish well in life, to keep going and to believe the later years can be more fruitful than the former years

11 July

How you speak and how you listen will affect the whole atmosphere in your home: ‘Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife’ (v.1).

Your words are powerful. Determine today to speak positive, encouraging words of life and blessing everywhere you go.

10 July

The word ‘intercession’ generally means praying for someone else (although, it can also be used of praying for oneself). We are all called to intercession: ‘I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercessionand thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority’ (1 Timothy 2:1–2).

Jesus is the great intercessor. He ‘made intercessionfor the transgressors’ (Isaiah 53:12). He ‘is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us’ (Romans 8:34; see also Hebrews 7:25). The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us and through us: ‘The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express… the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will’ (Romans 8:26–27).

We do not pray for the sick because they all get healed. We pray for them because Jesus told us to do so. Over these years we have sometimes seen extraordinary healings. Do not be discouraged. Keep on praying with faith and boldness, love and sensitivity.

This is such a simple model for us to follow. First, when Paul heard that Publius’ father was sick, he acted in faith. He believed God was able to heal him so, ‘[He] went in to see him’ (v.8).

Second, he acted with boldness. Publius’ father was presumably not a Christian. Yet Paul was courageous enough to offer to pray for him, and to do so publically, laying hands on him. It might have been tempting to think, ‘What if he’s not healed?’ ‘Will I look a failure?’ ‘Will it bring the gospel into disrepute?’ But Paul took a risk. He acted in faith.

Sometimes in your own life you may be faced with seemingly overwhelming problems. This is a great model of how to deal with them. Hezekiah did not despair. He did not panic. He did not give up. He turned to God in prayer.

9 July

Extraordinarily, it is often the people who have gone through the greatest suffering who have the strongest faith. They testify to the presence of God with them, strengthening and comforting them in the midst of their pain. Betsie ten Boom, as she lay dying in Ravensbruck concentration camp, turned to her sister Corrie and said, ‘We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here.’

Faith involves trusting in the Lord. The people of God in the Bible looked out on a world of suffering. But they trusted in the Lord despite what they saw.

8 July

Listening is very important. Some people are very good at it. General George Marshall said, ‘Formula for handling people: Listen to the other person’s story? Listen to the other person’s full story. Listen to the other person’s full story first.’ Listening to God is one of the keys to our relationship with him. ‘To listen’, means to hear attentively, ‘to pay attention to’. 

Prayer means giving God our full attention first.  This was the reason they went into exile: ‘The exile came about because of sin: The children of Israel sinned against God... They did all kinds of things on the sly, things offensive to their God’ (vv.7–9, MSG). ‘They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”’ (v.15). The result of not listening was that the people of Israel lost the presence of God and were sent into exile in Assyria: ‘he thrust them from his presence… the Lord removed them from his presence’ (vv.20,23). Like us, so often, they had not been ruthless enough about sin in their lives: ‘They honoured and worshiped God, but not exclusively... They don’t really worship God – they don’t take seriously what he says regarding how to behave and what to believe’ (vv.32,34 MSG). ‘They didn’t pay any attention. They kept doing what they’d always done’ (v.40, MSG).

7 July

In English, the word ‘pride’ can have a good sense. For example, we would not say it is wrong for a person to be proud of their children, or to take pride in their work. However, when the Bible talks about pride it means something different from this and has very negative connotations.

It means to have an excessively high opinion of one’s own worth or importance; it suggests arrogant or overbearing conduct. It is the independent spirit that says, ‘I have no need of God.’ Arguably, therefore, it is at the root of all sin. How should we respond to the temptation and dangers of pride?

‘Lowliness of spirit’, the opposite of pride, brings:

• Prosperity
  Humility means a willingness to learn: ‘Those who give heed to instruction prosper’ (v.20a).
• Happiness
  The humble trust in God: ‘Whoever leans on, trusts in, and is confident in the Lord – happy, blessed, and fortunate is he’ (v.20b, AMP).
• Healing
  As opposed to the arrogant words of the proud (‘scoundrels plot evil, and their speech is like a scorching fire’, v.27), the humble use pleasant words (‘pleasant words promote instruction’, v.21b). ‘Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones’ (v.24).
• 
  

6 July

President John F. Kennedy said, ‘We stand today on the edge of a new frontier… but the new frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises – it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them.’

Life is a set of challenges, problems and hassles. We sometimes imagine that if we could just deal with the immediate challenge that we are facing, all our problems would be over. But life is not like that. If we resolve one problem, others are just around the corner.

The temptation is to see these challenges as preventing us from carrying out the ministry God has given us. In actual fact, dealing with the problems is the ministry. As one former Bishop of Kensington put it: ‘These are not the problems associated with the ministry, they are the ministry.’

The Bible is true to life. The psalmist faced pain and distress. Paul faced false accusation and the frustration of being kept in prison on trumped up charges. The kings in the Old Testament faced battles and a massive building project challenge.

As I read the passages for today, I am reminded that the relatively minor challenges, problems and hassles that I face are nothing compared to what the people of God have faced in the past, and still face around the world today.

 Faith means trusting God. ‘Faith’, as C.S. Lewis wrote, ‘is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.’ It is hard to trust God when everything seems to be going wrong.

Third, in the long term, 2,000 years later, vast numbers of people have read Paul’s story and been encouraged to know that he too faced false imprisonment, accusations and criticism. I suspect that Paul would have been astonished in the midst of all these difficulties to know how much good was going to come of them. You may never know, in this life, how God uses your faithfulness in the face of challenges.

 

5 June

But avoiding a decision is a decision in itself. A decision to put an innocent man in prison. We cannot avoid responsibility by indecision. Indecision is itself a decision not to act. It is a decision to maintain the status quo. It is an action with consequences.

4 July

Gustave Flaubert once wrote, ‘You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and the importance of a work of art by the amount that it is attacked.’ The reason people in the Bible, and the church today, are so embattled is because the work you do is so important. Coming under attack is not a rare event in the Bible. Nor is it a rare event in the life of any Christian. Sometimes you go through periods of relative calm. But further attacks are almost inevitable.

Jesus said, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you’ (John 14:27). The early church preached ‘the good news of peace through Jesus Christ’ (Acts 10:36). St Paul wrote, ‘we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 5:1). ‘The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace’ (8:6). He begins many of his letters, ‘Grace and peace to you’ (1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3, and so on).

In the middle of attacks, whether from neighbours or enemies or authorities, you can have peace knowing that God is in control of events and history and turns opposition into opportunity.

3 July

If you are going through a set back or disappointment, remember that his purposes for you are ‘good, pleasing and perfect’ (Romans 12:2). Nothing happens without God’s permission. God is in control and in everythinghe is working for good (8:28).

It is right to plan. However, we need to do it with the necessary humility, recognising that our plans will only succeed ‘if it is the Lord’s will’ (see James 4:13–15). The writer of Proverbs says, ‘In your heart you may plan your course, but the Lord determines your steps’ (Proverbs 16:9).

Sometimes we align our plans with God’s purposes. At other times – certainly in my experience – God overrules our plans. We should always bear in mind that we may have got it wrong and that, ultimately, thankfully, it is the Lord who determines our steps.

God often works out his purposes through good leadership. Good leaders motivate others (v.10). They do not base their decisions simply on what is popular: ‘Sound leadership has a moral foundation’ (v.12b, MSG). They cultivate an environment of transparency: ‘Good leaders cultivate honest speech; they love advisors who tell them the truth’ (v.13, MSG). They ‘invigorate lives; they’re like spring rain and sunshine’ (v.15, MSG).

As with Paul, God will strategically order your steps. The sovereignty of God means we don’t have to worry about the ultimate outcome. God is in complete control, even though it may not always be easy to see it at the time.

God’s purpose is that you, like Paul, should be a witness. Everywhere you go, be a witness. When appropriate, give your testimony. Even when you are not speaking, your life is a testimony. Don’t wait until all is going well. In fact, in times of difficulties sometimes your testimony is at its most powerful.

The sovereignty of God and his plans is not meant to be an excuse for human inaction. God works through human agents. When you see needs, you are called to be God’s hands responding to those needs. This is what Elisha did. God used Elisha. He prophesied, ‘Listen! God’s word! The famine’s over. This time tomorrow food will be plentiful’ (7:1, MSG).

The world produces enough food for everyone, yet one in eight people on this planet are living with the pain of hunger. If we simply feed ourselves ‘we are not doing right’ (v.9). We must do everything we can to bring an end to extreme poverty in our generation.

This is also a wonderful illustration of our motive for telling others the good news about Jesus. These starving men came across a mountain of food. They realised that God had delivered them from their enemies. They could have kept the good news to themselves, but that would have been utterly selfish.

Yet they were tempted to do so. We have far better news than they had – the good news of Jesus and the gospel. Do not keep it to yourself. You are the human agent responsible for carrying out God’s plans.

Similarly, the people in the city could have just stayed there in their lost condition refusing to believe the good news. Indeed, at first the king does not respond very positively. He suspects a trap (v.12). Likewise today, some people do not respond to the offer of life Jesus makes to every human being because they suspect that there is some trap.

2 July

Father, thank you for your miraculous power to heal and to save. Help me to have the same attitude as Elisha and never to try to take any credit, whether material or otherwise, for myself. Thank you that transformation comes by grace. It is a gift of your undeserved love.

1 July

Pope Francis urged the spiritual leaders of the church to ‘be shepherds living with the smell of sheep’

‘Integrity’ is the opposite of ‘hypocrisy’. The word integrity comes from the Latin integer meaning ‘whole’. It describes an undivided life, a ‘wholeness’ that comes from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character. It means acting according to the values, beliefs and principles we claim to hold.

The pastoral care of God’s people must be done with integrity of heart. This is the most important characteristic. People said of Jesus, ‘we know you are a man of integrity’ (Mark 12:14). Many leaders have reflected on the importance of integrity in their role:

Former US President Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Western Europe during World War II said, ‘The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is… on a football field, in an army, or in an office.’

Psalm 78:70-72

70 He chose David his servant
    and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep he brought him
    to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
    of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
    with skillful hands he led them.

30 June

Grace is undeserved love. It is made possible through Jesus and ‘his own blood’ (v.28). It cannot be earned. It is a free gift.

• How do you receive the gift? First, turn to God in repentance (v.21). Repentance is such a positive word. It means turning away from sin and to God.
  
  Second, have faith in our Lord Jesus (v.21). You receive the gift by faith in Jesus Christ.

• Power of the Holy Spirit
  You have the Holy Spirit living in you. Everyone who repents of their sins and puts their faith in Jesus Christ receives the Holy Spirit. Paul speaks about how he is ‘compelled by the Spirit’ (v.22). The Holy Spirit speaks to him (v.23). It is the Holy Spirit who anoints and raises up leaders.
• Power of giving
  You will be blessed as you give. Paul knew that money is not the key to happiness: ‘… keep remembering that our Master said, “You’re far happier giving than getting”’ (v.35, MSG).

29 June

 Your plans should never be made independently of the Lord. You are called into relationship with him. Your plans need to be aligned with his plans. Your vision and your plans need to be led by the Spirit. As you sense God’s leading, commit your plans to the Lord. Bring them to him. Lay them before him. Then God promises ‘your plans will succeed’ (v.3). What does it mean to commit to the Lord whatever you do?

Cooperate

One translation of the Hebrew word for commit is to ‘roll towards’. There are two ways to go through life. One is to decide that we are perfectly capable of running our own lives – without God. We make plans independently of God to please ourselves. This is the way of pride (v.5) and independence. The proud cannot be told anything because they think they already know.

The other is to be willing to lay aside your own desires. This is the way of faith and humility: ‘Humility comes before honour’ (15:33).

God has good plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 2:10). Cooperate humbly with him, being willing to give up everything that clashes with his purpose for you.Confide

To commit your plans to the Lord means to speak to him about his plans – to make plans together with him. At the start of each day you can commit your plans to him. I find that holidays are a good time to plan ahead and commit the months, or even the year ahead, to God.

I remember hearing the actor David Suchet, when he had recently become a Christian, being asked on the radio whether there were certain roles he would turn down. He replied, ‘That is a very difficult question. All I can say is now when I am offered a part I go away and pray about it and if I feel it is wrong I turn it down, whereas before it would have been, “How much?”’Consult

The Lord says, ‘Woe… to those who carry out plansthat are not mine… Who go down to Egypt withoutconsulting me’ (Isaiah 30:1–2a). To commit to the Lord means to consult him and discuss your plans with him and seek his wisdom and advice (Proverbs 15:33a). With major decisions a wise person will consult others to check that you have accurately heard from the Lord (vv.31–32).

Having committed your plans to the Lord you can trust his promise of success. God is sovereign over your plans. ‘Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word’ (16:1, MSG). ‘In your heart you may plan your course, but the Lord determines your steps’ (v.9).

God gives you the freedom and responsibility to make plans. It is positively right for you to do this. And yet, God relates your decisions to your future. This is not a reason to be passive or fatalistic, but rather it is an encouragement that you can rest assured that God is in ultimate control of your life. You need not be frozen in a state of indecision.

You can trust that God will work out everything for good for those who love him (vv.6b,7; Romans 8:28)