Photo by...Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash
A student survey conducted at one of our local schools determined that young people see the church as being full of old people and pews. And they think that the pews have to go. There’s some good news in that survey, they didn’t say the old people should go, only the pews.
Think for a moment: How does their perception match reality?
We might immediately begin to defend the pews. They've been good enough for generations. They keep us awake. They haven’t killed anyone.
Or we might be offended that they’ve labelled us as old. We might argue that we’re not nearly as old as our grandparents were at the same age.
We might want to join James and John to ask Jesus whether we should call down fire from heaven and destroy them.
But before we get too defensive, these young people are crying out for the church to recognise and value them. They don’t think the church cares about them, they don’t think we care. They think the church is only interested in the people who’re already involved, which to them means old people.
I wonder whether they’re any different to those of any age who aren’t connected to our churches. Would the whole ‘unchurched’ and 'previously-churched’ community agree that we don’t care. Would they contend that we’re only interested in ourselves.
If we’re so busy polishing and defending our pews then they have to go. If there’s anything in our church that uses up our time at the expense of living our lives for Jesus then it has to go.
Even more urgently we have to go. Not leave the church, the community of God’s people, but go with the good news that because God loves and cares for every single person in this world so do we.
“As you go”, Jesus says, “make disciples of all nations.” Jesus cares about this because he has ‘skin-in-the-game’. He died for each and every one we encounter as we go about our lives.
How do we, as individuals and a church, need to change so that no one in our community will feel that we don’t care about them?
What do Twenty20 cricket and Ancient Israel have in common?
by Jane Mueller
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine’ (Isaiah 43:1).
Read Isaiah 43:1–7
On this day in 2005, Aussies saw something new at the Western Australian Cricket Association ground in Perth: the very first Australian Twenty20 cricket match. Traditionalists scoffed. After all, cricket was a gentleman’s game of patience and strategy, not coloured shirts, roaring crowds and fireworks. Yet the game changed. It was fast, bright and captivating. Twenty20 brought new audiences to an old sport. Reinvention breathed fresh life into cricket.
God’s words through Isaiah also speak of reinvention. Israel had been battered by exile. Its identity was fractured. But God declared, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’ God wasn’t abandoning the covenant – Israel’s story wasn’t over. The God who never lets go was renewing the covenant and reshaping Israel’s story.
We live in a world that thrives on reinvention, but often leaves us exhausted as we constantly update, rebrand and hustle for relevance. The reinvention God offers is different. He doesn’t demand that we remake ourselves to earn his love. Instead, he renames us, claims us and redeems us. Our identity is secure. ‘You are mine.’
Let that sink in.
You are his.
Just as Twenty20 reshaped cricket without erasing its heart, God reshapes our lives without discarding who we are. He takes what is weary, fractured or stuck, and breathes new Spirit-filled energy into it. We are called by name into a story of belonging and purpose.
When fear rises – fear of change, of failure, of the unknown – remember that God has already called you by name. You belong. Your life is not defined by exile or loss, but by the redeeming love of the one who says, ‘You are mine’.
Redeeming God, thank you for calling me by name. When fear rises in me today – whether small or large – guide me to pause and whisper aloud, ‘I am yours. I belong to you.’ Let this confession quiet my fear and steady my steps. Amen.
Jane is a former Lutheran school principal and now serves as Governance Leadership Director for Lutheran Education SA, NT & WA. Jane has a keen interest in psychology, enjoys hiking and loves learning about and trying new things.
When God joined the queue
by Jane Mueller
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptised by him (Matthew 3:13).
Read Matthew 3:13–17
John saw him coming and froze. The line at the Jordan was full of ordinary sinners – farmers, labourers, tax collectors – all waiting their turn to be washed clean. And then Jesus joins the queue. No entourage, no special treatment. Just the Son of God, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the very people he came to save.
John can’t take it. ‘You should be baptising me,’ he blurts out. But Jesus insists, ‘Let it be so now.’
Let it be so now.
It’s one of the most quietly disruptive moments in Scripture. The one who has nothing to confess stands among the confessors. The one who created water submits to being washed in it. Holiness doesn’t hover about human mess – it wades right into it.
That’s what grace does. It doesn’t operate at a distance. It moves toward us, joins the queue and stands behind us in all the mess we’d rather hide. The baptism of Jesus is about solidarity. God doesn’t save by staying clean; God saves by stepping in.
If being human has started to feel like a competition or a performance, maybe the invitation is the same: step down into the water. Stand where everyone else stands. Get in line with the people you’ve been comparing yourself to and the ones you’ve tried to impress. Let grace even the playing field.
When Jesus rose from the water, heaven tore open, and the Spirit descended. Maybe that’s what happens when we choose humility over hype, presence over performance and love over comparison. The same sky that opened over the Jordan still opens for moments like these.
In this week’s devotions, we won’t just read about baptism – we’ll see that something’s changed. We’ll get on with living like resurrected people. Every piece of Scripture in the days ahead is a reminder that grace moves, water breaks, God keeps making all things new, and heaven is here, now.
Jesus, you could stay distant, but you don’t. You step into our mess, into our fears and into the queues we stand in. Teach me to do the same – to meet people where they are, not where it’s comfortable – and strip away my need to appear strong or right. Let my life and presence look like your love – close enough to get wet. Amen.
Jane is a former Lutheran school principal and now serves as Governance Leadership Director for Lutheran Education SA, NT & WA. Jane has a keen interest in psychology, enjoys hiking and loves learning about and trying new things.
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.