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In my first year of high school, Australia converted to decimal currency and Simon and Garfunkel released the song, “I am a rock”. While everyone in Australia was working together to adjust to the new currency the song spoke of going it alone. “I am a rock. I am an island.”
It’s a sad song about being hurt and withdrawing into isolation in order to avoid any more pain.
We’ve had some experiences of isolation this year and depending on our nature we’ve either enjoyed or hated those times.
Our God is into community. God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in a divine community of love and because we’re made in the image of God we’re also made for community.
The Christian faith in particular and life in general aren’t meant to be solo adventures. Even those with an introverted nature need others. We all need community.
Paul describes the community in terms of a body with many different and varied parts in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. The different parts of the body need each other and when they work together the body functions properly.
The beauty of this image and situation is found in the love and support we give and receive in the community. There are times when we desperately need the support of a loving community and there are times when we provide the support to members of the community.
This ‘strange’ year has highlighted the need for community. We need to care for each other and look out for each other.
It’s great to know God is always doing his best for us. It’s also clear our sisters and brothers are gifts from God. God often helps us through the community. God bless you with all the help you need and with all the strength you need to help others.
God is at work through us
by Josh Hauser
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
They have distributed freely; they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever (Psalm 112:9a).
Read Psalm 112:1–9(10)
This week, we have been asking: Where is God at work?
God is at work in the waiting. God is at work in the giving. God is at work in the truth. God is at work in faithfulness. God is at work in hope.
And today, we see where all this leads. That God is at work through us.
Psalm 112 sits alongside Psalm 111 in the Scriptures. Psalm 111 describes who God is: gracious, compassionate, righteous, faithful. Psalm 112 describes the person who fears God. And the words are almost identical.
God is gracious and compassionate (Psalm 111:4). The one who fears God is gracious and compassionate (Psalm 112:4).
God’s righteousness endures forever (Psalm 111:3). The righteousness of the one who fears God endures forever (Psalm 112:3,9).
Do you see what is happening? The person who walks with God begins to look like God. What God is, we become. What God does, we do.
‘Good will come to the one who is generous and lends freely, who conducts their affairs with justice’ (Psalm 112:5).
‘They have distributed freely; they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever’ (Psalm 112:9).
God gives freely to those with empty hands (Isaiah 55). And those who receive from God become people who give freely to others. God’s work flows through us.
This is where the week has been leading. God is at work in the waiting, and we learn to wait with others. God is at work in the giving, and we become God’s givers. God is at work in the truth, and we speak God’s truth. God is at work in faithfulness, and we stand with God alongside those who are struggling. God is at work in hope, and we hold out God’s hope to those in despair.
God is at work. And God is at work through us.
We are not the source. We are the overflow. What we have received, we pass on. What has been given to us, we give to others.
Therefore, let us be gracious, because God has been gracious to us. Let us be compassionate, because God has shown us compassion. Let us give freely, because we have received freely.
God is at work. Through us.
Dear God, thank you for all the ways you are at work. Thank you for meeting us in the waiting, the giving, the truth, the faithfulness and the hope. Now work through us. Make us generous, compassionate, and just. Use us to bring your love to others. Amen.
God is at work in faithfulness
by Josh Hauser
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:13).
Read 1 Peter 4:12–16
Reading the world news can be overwhelming, can’t it? We see a world that is hurting. War, invasions, persecution and racism invade our news feeds continuously.
1 Peter is a great way to answer where God is in these moments. It was written to Christians living across Asia Minor who were experiencing the same things we are seeing in the world today – persecution, rejection and suffering because of their faith. These believers were a small minority in a wider Roman culture that did not understand or accept their way of life. They faced social exclusion, public criticism and, in some cases, legal trouble.
In verses 12–16, Peter tells believers not to be surprised when they face hardships because of their faith. ‘But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed’ (verse 13). This persecution should be met with joy because we are suffering with Christ. Peter’s message is clear: keep going. Stay faithful because God is faithful to us.
God is at work in faithfulness. God’s faithfulness to us.
This is the promise that runs through all of Scripture. In Deuteronomy, Moses tells Israel: ‘He will not fail you or forsake you.’ In Joshua, God repeats it: ‘I will not fail you or forsake you.’ Isaiah declares: ‘Do not fear, for I am with you.’ Jesus echoes it: ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ And Hebrews reminds the Early Church: ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’
Peter’s readers were suffering. They were isolated. They may have even wondered if God had forgotten them. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed, forgotten or alone. If that is the case, then remember God is faithful and at work in that. This faithfulness means God’s promises are kept. It means God does not abandon people. It means that when we have nothing left, God is there, still holding us and always present.
God is faithful, God is at work, and God loves you.
Dear God, thank you for your faithfulness; help us to trust that you are with us, especially when we feel alone. Amen.
Josh lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with his wife, Alice, and their two children. Josh enjoys time with his family, the beach and sports of any kind. Josh works at a school, where he feels it is a privilege to share the gospel with the next generation.
God is at work in the truth
by Josh Hauser
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God’ (Luke 6:20).
Read Luke 6:20–26
We have all done it, probably when we were kids.
‘Mum, can I have a chocolate?’ you say.
‘No,’ Mum says.
‘Dad, can I have a chocolate?’
The scam is as old as time. When we can’t find the answer we seek, we look elsewhere to get the answer we want.
We call it confirmation bias now. We tend to seek out voices that align with our own. We surround ourselves with people who think as we do. Social media learns what we want to hear and feeds it back to us. It feels good. It feels right. But it is an echo chamber. It makes us feel comfortable and insular, preventing us from hearing truth and growing.
This confirmation bias was around in Jesus’ time – think about the crowds of people that followed Jesus. Some wanted healing. Some wanted a political revolution. Some wanted their assumptions confirmed. People came looking for a messiah who matched their expectations. People wanted a king.
Luke 6 tells us about a time when Jesus came down from the mountain, stood on a level place and was surrounded by a large crowd. Luke tells us that Jesus looked at his disciples and said:
Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you because of the Son of Man.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are full now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
For many in the crowd, this is not the confirmation bias the people would have wanted. Jesus starts verse 27, ‘But I say to you who are listening …’ This suggests that Jesus knew people switched off and that the truth of the situation didn’t match expectations, so they were already not listening. That is what the truth does to us at times – it makes us uncomfortable. If we don’t sit in that discomfort, then we can’t grow.
As Christians, we believe that God is active in the word; God is active in the truth. We believe that we have the ultimate source of truth available to us in God’s word.
Let’s not shy away from truth. Sometimes, we spend so much energy looking for the answers we want to hear. The challenge for today is to stop, listen and let God speak what is true, even if it disrupts what we want to hear. God is working in that uncomfortableness, so we grow into who God desires us to be.
Dear God, help us to listen to your word, trust the truth you speak and rest in the work you are doing through it. Amen.
Josh lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with his wife, Alice, and their two children. Josh enjoys time with his family, the beach and sports of any kind. Josh works at a school, where he feels it is a privilege to share the gospel with the next generation.