by Pastor Tim Klein
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Read Genesis 29:1–20
In yesterday’s devotion, in Genesis 28:2,3, Jacob’s father Isaac sends him on his way with instructions and a blessing:
Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.
So much for ‘the best-laid plans of mice and men’ (thank you, Robert Burns). Those plans soon went astray. With some significant manipulation (dare we say ‘skullduggery and trickery’) by Laban, not one, but two wives – both the daughters of Laban – were married to Jacob. But God’s plan was still at work. Fulfilment of the blessing took more than one wife; it took both wives and two maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah (whom Jacob also married), to produce Jacob’s 12 sons, the founding fathers of the tribes of Israel.
It is amazing how God persists with his plan. It’s the big salvation plan. One of the sons is Judah – and his house is the house of Israel from which Jesus came.
If you are interested in the story, keep reading Genesis for the extraordinary roll-out of God’s saving plan all those generations ago.
Is there some encouragement in this for you and me? If you read on, you will discover the characters of the 12 leaders of the tribes of Israel. They were many and varied, and God had something to say and do through each of their lives.
You may find a direct comparison to your life among them. However, in general terms, you will see the miracle of how the Lord works through different people, in good and bad situations, always working for the good of his people and the sake of his kingdom.
By all means, we lay our plans. But most of all, we trust the Lord to guide us through them all.
Lord: you must laugh sometimes at the plans we make. Yet despite us, you remain working in and through us. Please continue to give us the confidence to boldly step ahead in faith, trusting in you, knowing that you are there with us, working your good for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.
Tim has served as a pastor for more than 30 years in Australia and New Zealand. He plans to retire on 12 January in 2025. Husband to his wife Joy, father of three and grandfather of more than 10, Tim says he is living in hope. He enjoys gardening (especially his orchard of more than 60 trees, succulents and flowering plants), making music (he loves to sing), beekeeping and taking photos.
The appearing kingdom
by Tim Castle-Schmidt
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While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once (Luke 19:11).
Read Luke 19:11–27
Do you sometimes wish that the kingdom of God would appear now and that we could transition from the dog-eat-dog world we currently live in to the kingdom that Jesus describes? Because, as we read here, followers of Jesus have been seeking this for millennia.
And yet, we need to look carefully for the unexpected in God’s word.
Just when these early followers of Jesus thought that the kingdom of God would appear at once, Jesus responded with this challenging parable. However, while not dismissing the parable, following this, Jesus immediately enters Jerusalem as the coming king.
And this is the most unexpected! Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a peace donkey, not a war horse!
And by the end of the week, he will be dead.
God’s kingdom has appeared, and it has appeared in a person, in Jesus. Jesus comes, not promising wealth and good health, but faithfulness and mercy.
Whichever way we picture the kingdom of God, we must do it through the lens of Jesus, the suffering servant, the merciful judge, the death-defying Prince of Peace. Our task is not to imagine sitting in the best seat in the kingdom of God, but to know and join Jesus in his mission to the world.
The kingdom has appeared and is in our midst whenever we serve others or are served by others. This is also how we participate in bringing the kingdom in. As we approach the world with the attitude of Jesus – generosity, justice and mercy – the kingdom appears both to us and through us to the world.
Lord Jesus, help us to recognise the kingdom appearing in our midst. Reveal your ways of generosity, justice and mercy both to us and through us. Help us to rest in you, knowing that you are present in every moment of our lives. Amen.
By his own admission, Tim Castle-Schmidt is a broken man. Broken in body, mind and spirit, he says he is learning that God is at work in and through human brokenness. He says that while God has not ‘fixed’ him, God continues to work through his brokenness to connect with the world. Tim is the pastor of Nunawading–Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he finally listened to God’s call to the pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, Miranda, and a Jack Russell called Otto.
God is here
by Linda Macqueen
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God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
Read Psalm 46
At this time in the church year, it’s customary to focus on the end of things as we know them. In Sunday’s text, the disciples were shaking in their boots as Jesus predicted cataclysmic events ahead. Today, Psalm 46 holds no punches either, listing catastrophe after catastrophe that lie in wait for us. It’s all rather bleak and unsettling, isn’t it? But facing up to the fragility of life is a necessary reality check. We shouldn’t be surprised when life takes a nasty turn – and neither should we be surprised when we find God right there with us when it does.
‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble’. In a world where chaos swirls around us – whether it’s personal challenges, global crises or heartbreak close to home – God remains unshakably present. The earth may give way, mountains may crumble, and waters may roar, yet one truth stands firm: God is with us.
God has longed to be close to his people from the moment Adam and Eve drew their first breath; he sought them even as they hid from him (Genesis 3:9). He went before the Israelites as fire and cloud as they journeyed through the desert (Exodus 13:21,22). Then he lived with them in the temple (2 Chronicles 7:16). Then God came to Earth as a person, Jesus, called Immanuel – ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). And now he is closer still, with his Spirit living in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). That’s as close as he can get!
Take heart: God’s longing to be close to you has never changed. He will not leave you, no matter how fierce the storm you are facing now, or the one looming on the horizon. Rest in the promise that the God of Psalm 46 dwells in you by his Spirit and will be with you to your dying breath. He will never leave you. He is your refuge, now and forever.
Loving Father, though I do not know what the future holds, I do know that you hold the future. Give me today the faith to hold onto your promise that you will never leave me or forsake me, no matter what happens to me or whatever I may lose. Hold me in your arms, my refuge and strength. Amen.
Linda Macqueen retired in September 2025, having served 26 years as editor of The Lutheran and Communications Manager for the LCANZ. She has rapidly adapted to retirement, happily and energetically bringing her long-neglected home and garden back to life. She lives in the beautiful Adelaide Hills with her husband, Mark, and with their household’s lord and master, Nelson the rescued galah.
The dwelling place of God
by Linda Macqueen
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I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel (1 Kings 6:13).
Read 1 Kings 6:1–14
Finally, Solomon gets to build the long-awaited temple, a permanent place in which God will live among his people. It’s a picture of beauty and grandeur. The care and expense lavished on the temple reflect Solomon’s desire to give God the very best – a dwelling fit for the Almighty King.
But in verses 11 to 13, God interrupts the effusive descriptions of the temple with a timely reminder to Solomon: ‘As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfil through you the promise I gave to David your father.’ It’s as though God is tapping Solomon on the shoulder as he gazes lovingly at the emerging temple: ‘Don’t let this building steal your heart, my son. Don’t forget me, and don’t forget what it is that I really want.’
Then, as now, God was not seeking a magnificent temple so much as he was desiring relationship with his people and hearts turned towards him. A beautiful temple meant nothing if those within it did not seek God’s will or strive to reflect his character.
Centuries later, God would dwell among his people, not in a building, but in the person of Jesus – the Word became flesh (John 1:14). And after Jesus’ resurrection, God did something even more radical: he sent his Holy Spirit to live in us. Our bodies are living, walking, talking temples (1 Corinthians 6:19). Just as God once filled Solomon’s temple with his glory, he now fills our lives with his presence, shaping us to be people whose hearts beat in time with his.
Lord of Lords and King of Kings, as I gaze on the beauty of Solomon’s temple, remind me what you desire most – you don’t want things; you want me. Change me and rearrange me today so that my heart seeks yours, my will aligns with yours, and my words and actions reflect your loving kindness in your world. Amen.
Linda Macqueen retired in September 2025, having served 26 years as editor of The Lutheran and Communications Manager for the LCANZ. She has rapidly adapted to retirement, happily and energetically bringing her long-neglected home and garden back to life. She lives in the beautiful Adelaide Hills with her husband, Mark, and with their household’s lord and master, Nelson the rescued galah.