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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.
The voice of the Lord
by Jim Strelan
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic (Psalm 29:4).
Read Psalm 29
Don’t you wish that God would speak to you directly, like it seems he did in Old Testament times? Then you would know. Know what his will is. Know what he wants for you. Know how to respond to your present situation. Know what is ahead of you. That would be something.
This psalm is a song of praise. It’s a call to worship a God who is powerful and majestic. Interestingly, this psalm presents the voice of God as being heard in the lightning, thunder and wind. See the power of those things, see what they can do, and hear God. And worship him. We have no excuse for not acknowledging God. Romans 1:20 tells us that ‘God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen’. Look around you, and there’s something wrong if you can’t see God.
The trouble is that the power of nature, while awe-inspiring, is also destructive. So, if you want to fully grasp the nature of God, what we see around us leaves us confused. There are cyclones and roaring fires, floods and tsunamis. Powerful, yes, but leaving us a little in fear of this powerful, majestic God.
Hebrews 1:1,2 tells us: ‘In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son.’ You want God to speak to you? Listen to Jesus. He is the Word of God in human form. His voice is God’s voice. And it’s majestic and powerful. Hear him say, ‘Come.’ Hear him say, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Hear him say, ‘This is my body/blood for you.’ Hear him say, ‘I am with you always.’ Hear the many, many promises he makes. Hear him and trust his word. It’s the voice of God. When the Transfiguration happened, a voice from the cloud repeated the words Jesus heard at his baptism: ‘This is my Son whom I love; with him I am pleased.’ And added are the words: ‘Listen to him!’ (Matthew 17:5).
God speaks. And his speaking leads us to worship.
Lord, open my ears and heart so that I can hear you speaking. Amen.
Jim lives on Brisbane’s northside with his wife, Ruth. He enjoys reading and listening to music, is a proud Brisbane Lions member and loves his children and grandchildren. Jim is passionate about the gospel and the freedom it brings.
Lord of all
by Jim Strelan
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ (Romans 10:12,13).
Read Romans 10:11–17
Consider how major this was for the writer to the Romans to say. No difference, in a society where there was every difference. Some were called, chosen, and some not. Some were recipients of God’s covenant, some not. For a Jew and a Gentile to share food was a no-no. Don’t even let the shadow of a Gentile pass over you if you are a Jew, lest you be contaminated. Gentiles were excluded from the temple. Assisting an injured or dying Gentile was a mistake because it just added to the possibility of Gentiles surviving. No difference? You must be joking. Just consider what the Early Church had to deal with as it came to terms with a statement like this.
Over time, Christians have had to work through similar issues. What do we do about slavery? How do we deal with attitudes that separate people because of the colour of their skin? How do we view people whom we almost consider to be of another faith, even though they consider themselves Christians? What role do women have in the life of the church?
What do these words say? First of all, ‘the same Lord is Lord of all’. Of all. Not just those who meet the criteria. All – whether they recognise it or not. Jesus came to draw all to himself. To show them the way to the Father. He crosses boundaries and is scorned and rejected because of it. He frequently goes into Gentile territory; he eats and drinks with ‘sinners’; he elevates women to a status previously denied them. He is Lord of all.
Secondly, he ‘richly blesses all who call on him, for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’. I often say that when we get to heaven, there will be a lot of surprises. And, of course, the biggest surprise is that we’re there! We don’t need to make calling on the name of the Lord more complicated than it is. The thief on the cross called on the name of the Lord. The father, who said he believed but needed help with his unbelief, called on the name of the Lord. Many who brought their sick to Jesus only asked for help – that’s all. They called on the name of the Lord, and they received healing. God blesses all who call on him.
This is such a different approach to the status quo of the time. Perhaps our starting point when we try to come to terms with issues of our time is just this: there is no difference; Jesus is Lord of all. I wonder what impact that might have.
Lord of all, thank you for crossing all the boundaries. That ‘crossing’ also means I am a recipient of your blessing. As you are gracious, please help me to be the same. In your name, Amen.
Jim lives on Brisbane’s northside with his wife, Ruth. He enjoys reading and listening to music, is a proud Brisbane Lions member and loves his children and grandchildren. Jim is passionate about the gospel and the freedom it brings.
Knowing God
by Jim Strelan
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
If you knew me, you would know my Father also (John 8:19b).
Read John 8:12–20
How do you know God? How do you know God’s nature, what he is like? The Old Testament testimony to the nature of God tells us that he is Creator, that he is powerful, that he wants a relationship with his people, that he is ‘slow to anger, abounding in love’ (Psalm 103:8b), that he is a deliverer, a rock and fortress, that he has our names carved on the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:16a) and many other wonderful attributes. But it also shows God as righteous, a punisher, almost a warring God who demands allegiance, a God who is sometimes more hidden than revealed. So, how do we know God? How do we know what he is like?
The best way to know God is to know Jesus. Jesus says that if you know him, then you know the Father. Jesus shows us the Father’s heart. If the God of the Old Testament is sometimes a bit puzzling for you, then look at Jesus. In John 14:9,10, when Philip asks Jesus to show his followers the Father, Jesus says: ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?’
So, what do we learn about God by looking at Jesus? He wants to be a part of our lives, so much so that he comes as a baby born in ordinary circumstances. He is willing to suffer scorn because of the kind of company he keeps, because he wants ‘sinners’ to come to him. His will is for healing and restoration rather than sickness and brokenness. He is prepared to suffer, be put on trial and experience the shame of the cross for us. The presence of Jesus is all around us in the Spirit whom the Father sends in Jesus’ name. We don’t need to be anxious about our dying because Jesus has prepared a place for us in his Father’s mansion and waits for us to come home.
The devotion from a few days ago says the same thing, and we can’t hear it enough. Look to Jesus. See how he is and who he is. And you will know God.
Thank you, God, for showing yourself in the person of Jesus. I see him, and I see you. Thank you. Amen.
Jim lives on Brisbane’s northside with his wife, Ruth. He enjoys reading and listening to music, is a proud Brisbane Lions member and loves his children and grandchildren. Jim is passionate about the gospel and the freedom it brings.