Photo by...Photo by Louise Sacré on Unsplash
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.
Spiritual eyes to see Satan at work
by Steve Liersch
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
esus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns’ (Matthew 16:23).
Read Matthew 16:21–28
I wish I had Jesus’ capacity to see and know when Satan was at work in me or around me. But being a sinful human being, I tend to be blind to those occasions, much to my annoyance. As the great deceiver, Satan uses every trick in his arsenal of lies and hatred of Jesus to obscure and thwart God’s plan of salvation for humanity.
In the previous verses (Matthew 16:13–20), Jesus engages in a conversation with his disciples about who they and the crowds say he is. Good on Peter for coming up with the right answer. Even Jesus seems pleased that at least someone could identify who he really is – ‘You are the Christ [or Messiah], the Son of the living God,’ says Peter (verse 16).
But it didn’t take long for Peter, on whom Jesus bestows a special title of ‘rock’ who will be used by God to build his church, to stumble at the first testing hurdle. Peter falls short of recognising that despite Jesus’ best efforts to prepare his disciples for the important events that unveiled God’s plan of salvation, Satan would be right there in the thick of things, trying to stop that plan from unfolding. The spiritual battle lines were drawn, and Peter was caught in the crossfire. Jesus calls it out, saying to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’
Many a great disciple of our Lord has moments as Peter did. Often, Satan and his tricks need to be identified through prayer so that, with ‘spiritual eyes’, we can see God’s will and actively participate in it, and his kingdom can be strengthened.
Reflect on a time when you were used by Satan to obstruct God’s plans for his kingdom to be nurtured and extended.
Holy Spirit, give me spiritual discernment to identify the plans of the evil one. Draw me to your word and implant in me the humility to see my faults, but also to accept the role I can play to grow your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Pastor Steve continues to enjoy his ministry in the beautiful southern coastal suburbs of Perth. Having announced his retirement date for May 2027, he will always be passionate about serving God, though it may look different in retirement.
The source of integrity
by Dianne Eckermann
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness (Psalm 26:2,3).
Read Psalm 26:1–8
Could anyone stand up and claim to have led a blameless life? Would anyone actually believe them if they did? Yet, this is precisely what the psalmist does as he begins his prayer to God, asking for vindication.
Superficially, this sounds like quite a hypocritical prayer. It’s a bit like footballers called before the tribunal, insisting they are blameless and have always played fairly – after all, you can just look at their record. Or a politician who has just ousted a previous leader, claiming to act with integrity. It only takes the media a second or two to find incriminating quotes that make claims of integrity go viral.
However, the psalmist confidently asks God to test him and examine his conscience. If we look carefully at verse three, the writer of this psalm can give a compelling reason for his prayer. It is his ongoing trust in God’s unfailing love. It is a love that is always present no matter what happens. God has always been faithful; therefore, the psalmist, in response, is faithful too, praising God and finding joy in his presence. Because the psalmist is walking with the Lord, he is not under the influence of the hypocrites, the deceitful and others who do wrong. In choosing a life of integrity, the psalmist is under the influence of his Lord. It is a life of trust, love and faithfulness.
Lord, thank you for your unending love and mercy. Keep us from the influence of those who are deceitful, and guide us to lead lives of integrity so that we know the joy of living in your presence. Amen.
Dianne has served in Lutheran education as a teacher, school leader and system leader at Lutheran Education Australia. Now retired from full-time work, she continues to volunteer on several committees and as a school board member. She lives in the Adelaide Hills with her husband, Robert, and is in strong demand as a babysitter for her three grandchildren.
People of God
by Dianne Eckermann
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:10).
Read 1 Peter 2:4–10
In the 2,000 years since these words were written, Christianity has grown throughout the world. The concept of Christianity is not new to us. It is not unfamiliar, even to non-Christians.
In today’s passage, we read of Christ as the living stone, referring to the resurrected Christ. His followers are like living stones, as they too have life – through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Through the images in this passage, people who believe are given a new identity. They are a chosen people, special to God, called into his wonderful light. They are early Christians united with God through Jesus.
This must have been a wonderful revelation to the early church. Before they knew Jesus, the rejected cornerstone, there was nothing to bind them together, but now they know who they are and whose they are. Now, through God’s unearned mercy, they are people of God and are precious to him.
The followers of Christ today have grown from these early beginnings and live in a different world, spiritually, culturally, politically and technologically. Different denominations have emerged over the centuries. However, these differences change nothing – it is still a world in need of mercy. Despite divisions in the church, we are given a beautiful, unifying statement in verse 10: ‘… now you are the people of God …’ This is our identity as Christians. We are all people of God.
Merciful God, we come to you with thanks that you do not treat us as we deserve but offer us your great mercy. Help us to show your mercy and love to people around us each day. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Dianne has served in Lutheran education as a teacher, school leader and system leader at Lutheran Education Australia. Now retired from full-time work, she continues to volunteer on several committees and as a school board member. She lives in the Adelaide Hills with her husband, Robert, and is in strong demand as a babysitter for her three grandchildren.