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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.
God’s L.E.D. Light New Year’s Day (1st January) Read: 2 Timothy 1:7-10 “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:9b-10 (NIV)
In 1960, the first low-powered LED lights were developed. But in 1968, they were developed commercially by Howard C. Borden and Gerald P. Pigini and put into a Hewlett-Packard product. LED is an acronym for Light-Emitting Diodes. They have become more popular in use as they are more energy-efficient (often 75% less), long-lasting (can last for tens of thousands of hours) and versatile (comes in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes). Electricity passes through a small microchip which causes it to glow brightly and are cool to the touch. I like to think that God’s light is L.E.D. – Lighting Extreme Darkness!
He is also our Light-Emitting Diode – energy-efficient (God loves us unconditonally), long-lasting (eternity), and versatile (for all people everywhere). God sent Jesus to earth, which had been planned from the beginning of the world, no one just knew when. The Old Testament foretold the coming of a Saviour, but until it happened in a blaze of light from heaven, no one believed it! Jesus came to earth in a burst of light from the angels and in all the pictures of nativity scenes we see the light from the star (which led the wisemen), shining brightly on the manger. I love the brightness that surrounded the birth of Jesus. Jesus came to an earth filled with the darkness of sin, and hope lay in the acceptance of sacrifices. Jesus became the sacrifice for our sin and brought hope to a darkened world.
His sacrifice paid the debt of our sin and unworthiness once and for all and we can now approach God directly and receive His love and forgiveness without question whether we are good enough. Today is the beginning of a New Year.
Treat this year as a new beginning to work on your relationship with God – read about Him in the Bible and get to know Him better. Make some new resolutions to grow your family in a new life with Jesus! Jesus is the light of the world, and He brings transformation in people’s lives. Grow in the LED light – Jesus Lights Extreme Darkness!
Prayer: Jesus, you brought light to my life when I was brought to you in my baptism. Shine your light into my heart and help me to grow deeper in my knowledge of you. Amen.
Kingdom of Light New Year’s Eve (31st December) Read: Colossians 1:9-14 “… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” Colossians 1:12 (NIV)
It is New Year’s Eve. What are you doing tonight to celebrate the passing of the old year and the beginning of the new year? Last year my family walked down to the Noosa River, with hundreds of others and watched the fireworks burst over the Tewantin Marina. To get to the river we had to walk along some unlit paths through the nearby bush. It was dark! We took torches, but one of our sons said to not put them on and let your eyes adjust to the darkness. It is amazing how eyes do adjust to try to take in as much outside light as they can. The above verse talks of the Kingdom of Light, and the opposite is mentioned in the next verse as the “…dominion of darkness”.
Paul in Colossians tells the believers in Colossae that through their learning and knowledge of Jesus they are being brought from darkness into the kingdom of God’s light. It is here that they will find forgiveness, love, acceptance and all the promises of salvation. In Jesus coming to earth, God sent His love through His only Son. He gave His Son to the world and allowed Jesus to live and become a human. (We celebrated His birth to a human family at Christmas). In Jesus living in the world, He became one of us, but He never let the darkness of sin be a part of His life. He was God’s Son, holy and righteous.
But our sin affected Him in then choosing to die for us and our salvation that we may live in the light. Jesus took the darkness of the world (the dominion of darkness) away from us. He made us clean so that we now live only in the light of God’s love. Sometimes we may feel that we can’t see God, or that the darkness around us is too dark. Let your eyes adjust and pray for God’s light to show the way – God’s light can shine through any and all darkness. The Kingdom of light is where I want to be.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for not allowing me to stumble in the darkness, but that you bring light and love into my heart and life. Let me shine that light out brightly so others can also find their way. Amen
Candlelit Candelabra 30th December Read: Ephesians 5:8-14 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light…” Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)
In 1991 I spent five months nannying for two children in Monmouth, Wales. I went from teaching year five in Mt Barker to looking after a 3 ½ year old and nine-month-old. They were children needing a lot of love and attention and I had them from 7am to 7pm, six days a week. The family was very generous, and I was invited to all family occasions. It was an old house, couple hundred years old, with six bathrooms, many bedrooms and a round staircase complete with a ghost I was told. For special occasions dinner was held in a total electricity-free dining room only lit by a large suspended candlelit candelabra. It was magical with the play between the darkness and the light cast by the candles. Before electricity, candles and oil lamps were needed to produce light in the darkness. If attention was not taken to keeping the candles lit and the oil filled, you could find yourself in darkness.
Darkness is sneaky and tends to sneak up on the unsuspecting. The vigilant housekeeper in Monmouth oversaw keeping the candles lit. If the candelabra went out, candles on the table needed to be lit. Darkness is scary, and to be in the dark without a Saviour is even worse. In the Ephesians text in verse 9, we are told what the fruits are to be in our lives for living in the light: goodness, righteousness and truth. Paul tells us in the Bible passage that we are to not live in the darkness, for many sinful things are done in the dark. Rather we are to expose the evil and repent and bring it all into the light of God’s love and forgiveness where everything is visible.
God wants us to be His children who live in His light; knowing a loving, compassionate Father that we can come to at any time and be assured that we will be heard and forgiven. So, be open with your relationship with Jesus – tell Him all and don’t let the darkness sneak up. Be enlightened and live in the Light! Prayer: With you, my Saviour, there is no darkness, only light. Help me to be vigilant to keep my light burning and not let the darkness creep into my life. Guide me in your way! Amen