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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.
Is God Santa Claus?
by Stephen Abraham
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Read 1 Corinthians 1:18–25
On YouTube, there is a fascinating debate between an atheist Professor Dap Hartmann of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands versus the famous Christian apologist Professor John Lennox of Oxford. In it, Professor Lennox responds to Hartmann, who compared God to Santa Claus. John’s response: ‘I’m not convinced about comparing God with Santa Claus … because have you ever met an adult who came to believe in Santa Claus?’
The text for today is a profound paradox. Paul reminds us that what the world labels as weakness and foolishness is actually the display of God’s ultimate power and wisdom. In Western culture, we demand logical answers, faultless strategies and undeniable physical proof. (Isn’t it fascinating that in Paul’s time, people sought the same things as we do!) The Greeks chased logical reasoning, while the Jews demanded miraculous signs. A crucified Saviour does not fit into either of these moulds. To the intellectual, a Messiah on a cross seemed utterly absurd; to the religious elite, it was a sign of God’s complete absence, not his divine presence.
Later in the debate, John Lennox shares that his own reason for believing in God is twofold. Firstly, God hasn’t hidden himself. He’s revealed himself in space–time in history through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Secondly, God doesn’t force his way into our thinking. God came into the world in such a way that did not threaten people. Not in a colossal display of power, but almost incognito, so the people could get to know him and see his love.
You cannot get people to accept the truth by force, so another way is required, and the incarnation is the way God chose to do it. God deliberately bypassed human expectations. He chose to come through the life of a human being and to completely conquer sin and death in humility, pain and the seeming weakness of the cross.
Lord Jesus, thank you for revealing yourself to the world in such an intimate and personal way. You defeated sin and death for me. Help me share that good news with someone close to me today. Amen.
Stephen Abraham is a retired Lutheran pastor and musician who served as a school pastor and church planter in Mawson Lakes, South Australia. Having to retire due to a spinal injury that leaves him largely housebound with chronic pain, Stephen still preaches, takes chapel and serves his local church and school. He also writes and records personal songs, worship songs and Christian meditations, which he shares on his YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/StephenAbrahamMusic
A question I don’t want to ask myself
by Stephen Abraham
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? (Luke 12:56)
Read Luke 12:54–59
In Luke 12, the crowds have gathered to hear Jesus’ message. But rather than go easy on them, Jesus goes hard! He confronts their hypocrisy that they follow the local weather patterns – that clouds in the west predict rain blowing in off the Mediterranean Sea, and if south winds blow, there will be scorching heat off the Negev desert – but they completely fail to interpret the significance of the present time – of what is coming and who is speaking to them.
As I picture the scene in my head, I’m so amazed at how blunt and gutsy Jesus is. I’ve spoken at some pretty big school and community events with large crowds. Yet I cannot imagine walking out in front of a large group of people who’ve come to hear me speak and starting off by calling them hypocrites! Man, that is something else!
And now for the kicker, a question I don’t really want to ask: Am I a hypocrite? Am I too comfortable in this life – too absorbed with the temporal to not see the eternal? Am I so focused on my little kingdom that I am oblivious to God’s kingdom? Am I so busy focusing on my practical needs that I’m missing the bigger spiritual picture and the physical and spiritual needs of my neighbours? Am I too comfortable and spiritually lazy? Ouch. Lord Jesus, that’s going to take some time to unpack.
After this verbal barrage, Jesus then shifts to a sobering legal analogy. He warns the hearers to settle matters with their adversary quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise, they will be dragged before the judge, handed over to the officer and thrown into prison until every last penny is paid. Okay, Jesus. I get it! The time to get my spiritual house in order is right now. Time to be honest with you. Time to confess and repent.
Lord Jesus, you know my heart. You know my failings. You know how focused I am on the things of this world – my own creature comforts and trying to make this temporary place ‘heaven’ while I should be focused on ‘actual heaven’. I chicken out on starting faith conversations with my neighbours. I avoid your call to be your envoy at work and at home. I have no excuse. Holy Spirit, turn this heart around. Turn my eyes to you. Forgive me for Jesus’ sake. Renew in me a willing spirit. Set me on the path you have for me. Open my eyes to what is going on spiritually around me today. Make me bold to speak your truth to others. Amen.
Stephen Abraham is a retired Lutheran pastor and musician who served as a school pastor and church planter in Mawson Lakes, South Australia. Having to retire due to a spinal injury that leaves him largely housebound with chronic pain, Stephen still preaches, takes chapel and serves his local church and school. He also writes and records personal songs, worship songs and Christian meditations, which he shares on his YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/StephenAbrahamMusic
Where the grass is greener, there is always a catch
by Stephen Abraham
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape? (Ezekiel 17:15)
Read Ezekiel 17:1–15
A parable involving two great eagles, a vine and a cedar tree. This prophecy represents the history of Judah’s political manoeuvring. Its lesson reaches across millennia and straight into our hearts, reminding us of the dangers of misplaced trust and switching allegiances when the going gets tough.
The story describes a great eagle that takes the top of a cedar tree and plants a vine in fertile soil. This vine grows, but it soon bends its roots toward a second eagle, seeking water and protection rather than relying on the soil where it was originally planted. God asks a piercing question: ‘Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and wither?’ The vine represents King Zedekiah and the people of Judah. God had placed them in a position to survive under Babylon, but they broke their covenant and turned to Egypt for help. They looked away from God’s provision and sought security in another alliance.
How often are we (or those we know) tempted to do the same? Something or someone upsets us in our community, but rather than working through the issues, we become disgruntled. Suddenly, the grass looks greener somewhere else. When difficulty comes, it is tempting to ‘bend our roots’ toward other securities – a new place of work, a different church, a fresh school, a more attractive community. We convince ourselves that these ‘new eagles’ will nurture us exactly the way we want them to.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times when God calls us to new circumstances. But it’s worth asking: ‘Is this what God wants, or is this what I want?’ When these questions come, remember the vine in Ezekiel’s riddle and the danger of turning away from the place where God has planted you. True stability does not come from shifting trust based on our whims; it comes from God’s faithfulness and trusting alone in his will for our lives.
Heavenly Father, I confess that when life gets difficult, I look elsewhere for security and comfort. Forgive me for the times I turn my heart away from you. Anchor my soul deeply in your love, truth and grace. Guide me with the tough conversations I need to have. Give me the strength to rely on your power alone so that I may grow, endure and thrive. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Stephen Abraham is a retired Lutheran pastor and musician who served as a school pastor and church planter in Mawson Lakes, South Australia. Having to retire due to a spinal injury that leaves him largely housebound with chronic pain, Stephen still preaches, takes chapel and serves his local church and school. He also writes and records personal songs, worship songs and Christian meditations, which he shares on his YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/StephenAbrahamMusic