We’ve just had an amazing holiday. Four of the highlights of our holiday involved water. In each case the area immediately around the water was really dry. The water had either travelled long distances in creeks and rivers or had come from deep underground. The results were amazing.
The life and beauty generated by the water attracts people from all over our country to these places. The vegetation, birds, and fish that are part of the spectacle are all dependent on the water but, no doubt, don’t give it a thought, just take it for granted.
We’re also dependent on water and can’t live without it. We might also take that for granted but we shouldn’t.
Water is one of God’s good gifts. All the water we saw on our holiday fell as rain at some stage even if it was no where near where we saw it or many years before. Without continuing rain all these places would eventually go dry. Thank God for his life-giving rains.
God declares his commitment to supply the needy with water through the prophet Isaiah. He says,
When the poor and needy are dying of thirst and cannot find water, I, the Lord God of Israel, will come to their rescue. I won’t forget them. I will make rivers flow on mountain peaks. I will send streams to fill the valleys.
Dry and barren land will flow with springs and become a lake. Isaiah 41:17f
We saw some examples of this prophecy fulfilled at Innamincka, Lawn Hill National Park (pictured), Dalhousie Springs, and Lake Eyre. Amazing!
Even more amazing is the living water that wells up within us, the Holy Spirit, to satisfy our spiritual thirst. John records these words for our encouragement,
On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.” Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. John 7:37-39a
God supply your needs and quench your thirsts, today and always!
Live ready
by Jim Strelan
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The virgins who were ready went in with him … (Matthew 25:10b).
Read Matthew 25:1–13
Over the years, someone or another has proclaimed certainty about the day Christ will return. And faithful followers have sold their possessions (no need for them) and gathered on a hilltop, singing hymns and praying as they waited. They wanted to be ready.
Is that what being ready means? The bridesmaids in this parable wanted to be ready, and some prepared themselves, while others didn’t. They knew the bridegroom was coming, but they didn’t know exactly when. When he did come – at a most unexpected time, midnight – they were surprised. Some had their lamps lit and brought extra oil. Some didn’t. Some ready, some not.
In the following verses of Matthew 25, we first have the parable of the man who entrusts his property to his servants. When he returns, he wants to know what they did with what they were given. And then we have the account of the final judgement when some are directed to the right and some to the left. And the criteria? How did you respond to the one in need: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the one short of clothes, the sick, the prisoner? Those who responded with love and care weren’t aware that, by doing so, they were serving Jesus. They just did it. It was their lifestyle and pattern of behaving.
A line attributed to Martin Luther (although the attribution is unproven) goes something like this: ‘Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.’ In other words, he would go about his day-to-day activities because he knew that he and the world were in God’s hands.
So maybe being ready means ‘living ready’. Not like those gathered on the hilltop with particular actions on a particular day, but living ready, trusting in God’s ongoing goodness. Wisely using the gifts given to us. Meeting the needs of those around us as best we can because that’s just what God’s people do. Living ready.
Lord, help me live each day so that, no matter when you return, I am ready, trusting in your goodness, aware of your presence, focused outward rather than inward. And so, I pray with great calmness: come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Jim is a retired pastor living with his wife Ruth in Deception Bay, Queensland. He spends his retirement making space to add more Lions’ premiership posters to the six (3+3) he already has on his garage wall.
God’s timely aid
by Faye Schmidt
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But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay (Psalm 70:5).
Read Psalm 70
Psalm 70 is one of those psalms that express longing for God to act. It’s an urgent prayer for help. It expresses a feeling of being short on time and long on need. In a few short words, it describes a plethora of feelings.
There are many moments in every Christian’s life when this psalm sums up our deepest need. We want God to act, and we want it now! Yet we are asked to wait. We feel the need to be vindicated. We want those who have hurt us to be exposed and justice done. In those moments, Psalm 70 provides a scriptural basis for lament, airing our grievances, asking for help and acknowledging that life isn’t always warm and fuzzy.
However, there are moments when our days are easy. We may hear Psalm 70 but not really feel connected to it in our daily routine. We may be more interested in ‘What’s for lunch?’ or the news of the day. Our days may simply not have room for lament.
Yet it is perhaps on those days we might benefit most from hearing Psalm 70. After all, the psalmist’s urgent cry (‘O Lord, make haste to help me!’) is someone’s cry, if not our own. The psalm can serve as a powerful reminder that even when our lives are rolling along as usual, that is not necessarily the case for everyone. Others might be hurting, calling out for help or awaiting deliverance. Others might be crying out but hearing no response.
This psalm calls us to stop and listen. Who around us is living in this psalm’s reality? Who is desperate for help but waiting for God to intervene? Who might be crying, even though there are no visible tears? Who needs our love and reassurance while they wait upon the Lord?
Dear God, our creator and sustainer, help us to turn away from our self-reliance and instead rely on you for everything we need each day. Remind us especially of our need for your forgiveness and grace, and help us to be thankful that you offer this freely in the death and resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
To God be the glory!
by Faye Schmidt
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… so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith – to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen (Romans 16:26b,27).
Read Romans 16:17–27
Paul thought highly of the church in Rome. He states, ‘Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you’ (verse 19). However, no matter how good a church is, it should never become complacent. In this closing passage, Paul delivers a strong warning about the possibility of false teachers deceiving and damaging the church (verses 17,18). This could happen in any church. It can happen to us. We are not immune. Paul’s advice is clear. He tells the church to ‘watch out for them; avoid them’. He says, ‘I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil’ (verse 19b).
Paul assures us there is an answer to the one who is the author of discord, division and deceit. We are not to be victims of defeat or despair. We are to confidently affirm God’s victory over Satan. Satan has already been decisively defeated at the cross, but he has not yet conceded his defeat. We need to proclaim Christ’s victory over Satan. We need to take the battle up to Satan by believing in God’s word, trusting in God and resisting Satan. Such victories would be impossible, however, apart from grace.
God never meant us to fight the fight of faith alone. We are to assist each other. His will for us is that we should be in a community of faith. Paul was no lone ranger. He always seemed to gather – or seek out – those who could sharpen and help him. In this final greeting, Paul acknowledges some of those who partnered with him in his ministry. He practised what he preached.
We must never forget that in our baptism, God adopts us as his children through Jesus. He abides in us. He sends his Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our faith and to remind us that he will never leave us nor forsake us. To God be the glory!
O God, who has been the refuge of many generations, be my refuge today in every time and circumstance of need. Be my guide through all that is dark and doubtful. Be my guard against all that threatens my spirit’s welfare. Be my strength in time of testing. Gladden my heart with your peace; through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.