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I'm sharing this journal entry from one of our sheep / shepherds for your encouragement and invite you to share your stories to keep us connected David
Thursday April 2, 2020: A journal entry:
JESUS WEPT.
A Morning mist of low cloud wrapped soft around the hills.
I read John 6 and tried to ponder on Jesus the living bread. But the mist beckoned and drew me outside, quickly enfolding me in its clammy embrace.
There was no pausing to choose direction. I headed straight up the hill blanketed in the foggy stillness, only birdcall echoing the inner certainty – she’s coming to pray.
Pray up the hill. I haven’t prayed up there for a while. I’ve prayed. But not there on God’s hill, my place of retreat.
At the summit, as cloud drifted and lifted, it was my heart that rained out its anguished plea, the cry for help with COVID19: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. Help us Jesus.
That was it. No wordy waffle. I perched on the rim of the damp bench, poised in grief and need; heart, mind and spirit turned to God, “Yet still do I praise you Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Living God.”
A lull then settled over me, like a mute button had been pressed to hush the turmoil of my distressed thoughts and wretched emotions concerning the plight of the world’s people. Wait. Be quiet!
Jesus wept. The words from last Sunday’s reading came to mind loud and clear.
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Judaeans who had come with her crying, he was deeply stirred in his spirit, and very troubled. 34 ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Master,’ they said, ‘come and see.’ 35 Jesus burst into tears. (John 11:33-35 NTE)
I too burst into tears, and as I wept, there at the top of the hill, I knew he was weeping with me. Weeping with all the world. Weeping for us all.
Turn to me. And I, turning, vision all awash, could see clearly, he was there. Feed my sheep. To this I shook my head, and thought, I’m no pastor. You are a minister of my word. Therefore, speak my word to others. Speak my word to one another. And suddenly understanding dawned. “You aren’t just saying this to me, are you? It’s your call to all of us: Feed your sheep. The responsibility is ours collectively.” And I pictured the scattered sheep, isolated from one another but belonging together and needing creative new ways of being church and speaking grace and hope to one another and others.
I plunged, then, down the hill, not following the worn paths but winding down the steeper slope, weaving through knee high weeds, around rocky mounds and patches of slippery flattened grass, to emerge at the wider base track.
Now is the time to forge new paths. Jesus is still the Way, the “base track” of my faith remains the same. It’s the network of familiar paths that represent how we have lived out our faith, that have fallen away, not God’s word or his kingdom, or his love.
I am thankful for this love that comes to us where we are: scattered sheep weeping in the mist of uncertainty. I’m thankful that Jesus wept and that his way isn’t set in stone. That he comes and calls us to discover a new and living way, today and tomorrow and the next day. Hallelujah! This is a new day! And the Jesus who weeps with us in our distress will renew us and lead us on beyond COVID19.
JESUS WEPT.
The autumn sun filtered a pale ray through the drifting grey. A reminder that the God who weeps, also sheds light as well as tears.
by Steve Liersch
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled … (Matthew 26:53,54a).
Read Matthew 26:47–56
I read that a Roman legion had 6,000 soldiers. How amazing would it be to have the capacity to call on more than 70,000 angels to look after you in some of life’s toughest moments? Jesus did. I could’ve used just a couple of them back in my school days to get rid of a mouthy older kid in the playground and certainly in the sports arena. Some people are just painful and bullies. Come to think of it, I’ve come across a couple of them throughout my adult life. Sadly, I keep reading and seeing how an imbalance of power gets to intimidate, harm and even kill the so-called lesser person.
Our society, and indeed our church, runs campaigns to end things like domestic violence and bullying in the workplace. We’ve created safe place and child-safe strategies and policies. I really wish and pray that the legions would step in and protect the innocent and vulnerable. And I certainly can’t see the will of God being done as evil seems to run rampant. I struggled with this one. So, what can we learn from today’s lesson?
Jesus said he had 12 legions of angels at his disposal by simply calling on his Father to intervene. Jesus’ arrest would have been a no-contest event, but that was never God’s intention. His plan of salvation needed to unfold, and it included Jesus having to suffer incredibly so that you and I would ultimately be free from the effects of sin.
We believe and confess that our Almighty God can do anything, but so often, we want the easy way out. Maybe, just maybe, God lets us enter many of life’s toughest situations with the end goal in mind. If life were so easy, how would I learn to trust him no matter what? How would I ever learn patience? And I can see my pride levels rising as I cruise through without any obstacles to test my resilience or reliance on his strength.
Keep struggling with this one, but continue trusting in a God who has your back.
Almighty Heavenly Father, teach me your ways and help me always trust you no matter what happens in this life. I thank you for the best life that’s still coming through faith in Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Steve Liersch and his wife, Angelyn, are now empty-nesters living in Port Kennedy in the southern coastal suburbs of Perth. Steve says that he sees every day as a gift from God, allowing him to discover new ways to journey with Jesus and learn more about the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as well as how his Heavenly Father wants to use him in some small or great way.
by Steve Liersch
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’ (Matthew 26:39).
Read Matthew 26:36–46
The prayers below could be lacking something. If they sound familiar, give yourself a point.
- Dear God, please give us a fine day on Saturday so that the family gathering in the park can be a success and we all have a great time. Amen.
- Dear God, please help our dog respond to the medication so that she doesn’t have to suffer and gets well soon. Amen.
- Dear God, of all the beautiful people in the world, why is Grandma so sick? Please make her better so that we can spend Christmas together again. Amen.
These prayers are great. They call on God to do what we can’t do as people. Control the weather (1), provide healthy pets (2), and heal the sick (3). I have prayed these sorts of prayers all my life. It’s what I’ve been taught to do. It’s what I desire to have happen for the wellbeing of all … or is it?
Without sparking a huge debate so that my email inbox or phone doesn’t go ballistic, could it be possible that by stopping the prayers as I have, they are missing what God’s will is actually trying to bring about? As a result, am I open to that so that his will might be done?
Consider this:
- What if God sent rain because a drought was in progress?
- What if God wanted to show that some people care more about their pets than their family?
- Grandma has a beautiful faith. What if God is calling her to heaven?
Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane reveals more than just his desire to have the cup of death taken away from him. Although it would suit him from a human perspective to be spared the impending agony, his prayer also shows how he is reliant on his Heavenly Father’s will to be done as he surrenders in complete obedience. ‘Yet not as I will, but as you will’ (verse 39).
Consider adding these words to your prayers more, and be at peace with God’s response.
Heavenly Father, help me to trust you more, so that your will is also my desire. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Pastor Steve Liersch and his wife, Angelyn, are now empty-nesters living in Port Kennedy in the southern coastal suburbs of Perth. Steve says that he sees every day as a gift from God, allowing him to discover new ways to journey with Jesus and learn more about the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as well as how his Heavenly Father wants to use him in some small or great way.
by Steve Liersch
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
But Peter declared, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the other disciples said the same (Matthew 26:35).
Read Matthew 26:26–35
We see it time and time again. A group united around its brave leader – until …? Sadly, politics provides many of these moments where a campaign leading up to an election constantly shows many of the party faithful, colleagues and those who believe in the promise of the leader before them, all gathered around together nodding their heads in agreement as the leader speaks. Until? Yep, if the party loses the election, many of those who were bravely following their now-defeated leader are suddenly running for the door. Nowhere in sight to face the barrage of constant questions of where it all went wrong.
Peter was his name. ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will’ (verse 33). To which Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times’ (verse 34). And here’s the kicker: ‘And all the other disciples said the same’ (verse 35). Within hours, the disciples deserted Jesus in the garden following his arrest. Their leader is gone, their bravery melted away, and Jesus’ words become reality.
We all want to be on the winning team. Words are cheap if actions don’t follow them. When Jesus predicted his death in Matthew 16:21–28, Peter said to him, ‘Surely not, Lord. This will never happen to you.’
Peter put himself out there as the brave leader designated by Jesus to lead his disciples. Yet he needed to learn a few lessons that had to be lived through rather than just spoken about in one of Jesus’ teaching sessions on a mountainside.
Sometimes, our failures can teach us more about ourselves than we care to learn. I would never do that – until …? I couldn’t see myself ever being part of that – until …? I wouldn’t dare say anything like that – until …? Yet nothing surprises Jesus about the humans he came to save. Sin, human failure, even Satan’s joy at the scene on Golgotha, seemed to have won – until …? Until Jesus spoke salvation over creation, ‘Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing’ (Luke 23:34).
How many ‘untils’ do you need to repent of?
Heavenly Father, please keep drawing me back to you in repentance. Please help me to live here on Earth by your grace until I live with you forever. Amen.
Pastor Steve Liersch and his wife, Angelyn, are now empty-nesters living in Port Kennedy in the southern coastal suburbs of Perth. Steve says that he sees every day as a gift from God, allowing him to discover new ways to journey with Jesus and learn more about the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as well as how his Heavenly Father wants to use him in some small or great way.