So... God is real

Last night I went to church. Normally I go to one of the morning services but occasionally I also go to the evening service, which is aimed at young adults and tends to be a lot more casual (with louder music). I like it. The sermon was about God's promises and focussed particularly on the bit in Genesis 21 where God fulfils his promises to Abraham and Sarah and gives them the son He'd promised so many years before. The person who was preaching said that the Bible is full of God's promises and pointed to little strips of paper that had been placed in the pews in front of us on the little shelf where the Bibles sit. Each one contained a promise from the Bible, so we picked them up and read them. The one that was in front of me had Psalm 34:4 - "I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." This is a pretty good promise at any time, but here's the thing: this is the very verse through which I was converted 21 years ago.

Freaky, right? But there's more. For about the last 18 months I have really struggled to pray. It's partly related to the amount of emotional energy that I've been directing towards the counselling/healing 'journey' (bleh - hate that expression) which hasn't left me much emotional energy for anything else. Mostly, though, it's been because I haven't been quite sure how to fit God into it all. I've never questioned where God was when my brother was bullying me - I am sure it made Him as sad as it made me - but I've certainly questioned where God is now. The effects of my brother's treatment of me are so deeply ingrained, and the progress I'm making to get over it seems so slow and so hard-won that I've felt like I'm slogging it out on a tiny island and God is on the mainland and can't even see me.

When I read that verse I was reminded that the God who delivered me when I was a fearful and insecure 17 year old is the SAME God. God knew everything that had happened in my life up to then and everything to come that would bring me to this point. He said to me so clearly last night, "I care about your struggles now in exactly the same way I cared about them the first time you read that verse."

There are plenty of times in my life where I've read bits of the Bible and thought, "Hmmm... that's particularly relevant to me right now" but there have also been a couple of times where God has grabbed me and said, "This is for YOU. Listen to me." Last night was one of those times.

God is real. God is good.
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The fear of the Lord

As I have done for many years, I decided this year to read through my 'One Year Bible'. This is a Bible that's divided up into readings for each day - a bit from the Old Testament, a bit from the New and usually a Psalm or a bit from Proverbs. If you follow it daily you'll have read through the whole Bible at the end of the year. Now when I say "as I have done for many years", I'm saying that what I have done for many years is decide to read through the One Year Bible. I usually start to lose momentum some time in April, and by November I'm about four months behind. One of these years I'll do it... is this the year? I don't know.

I don't want to read through the entire Bible because I think it will make me a 'good Christian', nor because I think God requires it of me. That's not what grace is about. I want to read through it partly because I like a challenge; but also because I'd like to make spending time with God something that's a normal part of my day, not something I do when I remember it... and then feel guilty about not doing it more often. (Hmmm... what was that I was saying about grace?)

Today I was reading Genesis 3 and 4, which recounts the events known in Christianity as "the fall", where Adam and Eve eat the fruit - which may or may not have been an apple - that God told them not to eat. A history changing event if ever there was one. I can't tell you how many times I've read this part of the Bible. (Genesis is better than Melrose Place - full of scandals, love triangles, intrigue and murder.) Today I was struck by the part just after Adam and Eve eat the fruit. As soon as they eat it the Bible says "their eyes were opened" and the first thing they felt was shame because they were naked. Shortly after this God calls Adam in the garden and Adam says he hid from God because he was afraid.

Fear is an interesting response from Adam here. His first two responses are shame and fear, but what has happened so far that would make him think he needs to fear God? Up to this point God has created the world, then created Adam, then created Eve as a suitable partner for Adam - the first, and perhaps the best ever 'soul mates'. Everything God created was good, and 'good' in God's terms is pretty darn good. God has shown Adam nothing but love and kindness. That's all Adam knows.

And yet, Adam is afraid. When he does something he's not supposed to his first response is to forget what he knows about God.

I am not so very different from Adam. When I stuff up; or deliberately do the wrong thing; or do things that I think will make God angry even if that's not true (like not praying or reading the Bible often enough) then my first response is to forget what I know about God. God is patient, gracious and forgiving. He loves me and genuinely desires a relationship with me. In spite of knowing this I continue to believe that he is an angry, frowning, disapproving God who is just waiting for me to stuff up, and who will remain angry unless I do something to get him to forgive me and like me again.

Although I've never managed to get through the One Year Bible in one year, I have read the whole thing. I've read it, studied it, talked about it, written about it - and yet still my first reaction to my failings is to make it somehow God's fault by creating this tiny, mean, spiteful God who bears no resemblance to the God of the Bible. So my new year's resolution this year is simple - to know God... not the petty God created by my fears, but the real God who loves me so much that he sent his Son to die for me.

What I celebrate

Luke 2:1-35:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

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Four tiny words

As a church we're spending four weeks reading the gospel of Mark, leading up to a thanksgiving and commitment day next Sunday. We're reading it individually but if you follow the reading guide it means we're all reading the same thing on the same day. Or, if you're like me, you're forgetting about it all week and catching up on the weekend. (I know I can't be the only one who's done that!)

The reading for the other day included that pivotal part of Mark:
And he asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ."** (Mark 8 v 29)

I've heard this little exchange so often that in some ways I've become immune to it and what it means. It sounds so matter-of-fact - "you are the Christ". It sounds like nothing. It could just as easily be "You are a carpenter" or "You're a really dynamic speaker with 12 good friends." It sounds matter-of-fact but in reality Peter is saying something amazing and history-changing.

• He's saying that finally - finally - the fulfilment of God's promises has come.
• He's saying that God is faithful.
• He's saying that God's kingdom is here and that the redemption of his people has begun.
• Even though it becomes obvious later that he doesn't fully understand what the Christ has come to do, he's saying, "You are the one who makes it possible for me to stand in the presence of the most holy God - fully welcomed and without fear."

The whole weight of history is in those four tiny words... You are the Christ.

**(For those who aren't aware, 'Christ' is not Jesus' surname; it's a title which means 'anointed one'. It's the Greek version of the Hebrew word 'Messiah'.)

Ripped off joke #8... and Jesus

Two racehorses are in their stable having a chat. One says, "I can't believe how fast I was in that last race - it was by far my best time ever. It's weird, though... I had this sharp pain in my hindquarters just before the race started." The second horse says, "Funny you should mention that. I had MY best time ever in my last race - I finished two minutes ahead of all the other horses. And I felt a sharp pain in MY hindquarters too! How strange."

A dog walks by and says, "You horses are idiots. Don't you release you've been injected with performance enhancing drugs? That's why you did so well - you were drugged and the race was rigged!"

There is a long, stunned silence. Finally one of the horses turns to the other and says, "I'm so shocked. I just can't believe it..... a talking dog!"

Believe it or not, that joke cropped up in Bible study tonight. We were looking at the bit in Matthew were Jesus heals the guy in the temple with the shrivelled hand. The thing is, though, it's on the Sabbath. The Pharisees say, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" They appear to have missed the point - why aren't they saying, "WOW! Jesus healed someone! Isn't he amazing and powerful and compassionate!" ?? Much like the horses in the joke, they've completely missed the point and are concentrating on a side issue that's really not important at all. It's incredibly obtuse... and it's not just the Pharisees who are guilty of it, either. We tend to get so caught up in stuff - which is often good stuff - that we forget all about grace; and forget that Jesus is amazing and powerful and he loves us even if we don't have 6 quiet times a week.

Context

Sometimes it's good to stop looking at the tiny things and get a handle on my identity in God's context. It's huge, and wonderful.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory.

(Ephesians 1 v 3 - 14)

The light of the world

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5 v 14)

This is part of a passage I've heard hundreds of times and so I tend not to think too deeply about it most of the time. Today, however, I was struck by "a city on a hill cannot be hidden". In context, I've always concentrated on the exhortation to let our light shine so that people will see Christ in us. While the passage is certainly about that, it's also an encouragement that God cannot be silenced; and that the Light of the world will always shine through, no matter how weak and sinful we are and no matter how dark the world seems to us. It feels often like the world keeps chipping away at God, and Christians are constantly having to give ground; and in that circumstance it's easy to think that eventually there'll be nothing left. Not true! God cannot be silenced; his people will never disappear from the earth; and the light of truth - the light that is Jesus - will continue to shine in the darkness.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.
(Isaiah 9 v 2)

Remembering God

Last night I read Joshua chapters 3 and 4. In these chapters the Israelites cross the Jordan River during flood season - God tells them that so long as the priests are standing in the river, he will stop the water flowing and allow them to cross on dry land. The priests stand there while 40,000 men cross (as well as the women, children and livestock, who weren't counted in that number), then they get out and the river starts flowing again as soon as the priests are on dry land.

When they get to the other side God instructs each tribe to erect a memorial stone so that when their children see the stones and ask why they're there, they can tell them about God performing this miracle and allowing them to cross the Jordan.

These chapters tell us about God - his mercy and his faithfulness to his promises - but they also speak loudly about the human condition. Seriously, if you saw God stop a raging river (and presumably it would have been raging during flood season) and 'pile up' all the water upstream while 80,000 or so people crossed the river on dry land, would you really need a stone to remind you about it? Surely you'd be telling everyone?? Apparently not... we are pretty quick to forget miracles and pretty quick to take the credit for ourselves where we can. I know I see miracles every day - maybe not of the "stop a river flowing" variety, but certainly of the "God is powerful, merciful and loving" variety. How often do I stop to give God the glory? How often do I remember God at all, instead of taking it all for granted?

Who among the Gods is like you, O Lord?
Who is like you -
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
(Exodus 15 v 11)

Thoroughly equipped

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13 v 20-21)

This is a great thing to be praying for each other but I think it's also something good to be praying for ourselves. I pray for a lot of things - and that's fine; God wants to hear my prayers and wants me to bring all my requests to him - but I confess I don't often pray to be equipped to do his will. I think I'm more likely to grudgingly accept that I might have some spiritual gifts that I'm prepared to use if I'm not too inconvenienced... perhaps I need to spend a little more time actively seeking to do God's will, and praying that he will equip me with everything good in order that I may do so (rather than asking for everything good so that I may lead a comfortable life).

Drawing near to God

"On the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect), but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God."

(Hebrews 7 v 18-19)

I've been thinking about the idea of drawing near to God; and the significance of the fact that Jesus' death and resurrection allows us to draw near to God. I guess there are two pictures here... one is of us standing still, being approached by God whether we want it or not - but potentially this leaves unsure about what God thinks of us, or whether we're welcome in God's presence at any other time. The other is of us approaching God boldly, being sure of our welcome. What's the real difference?

When I was growing up we were great friends with the family next door - the mother of the family is my godmother, in fact. Our properties were separated by a wooden fence, but some years before I was born my father cut a gate into the fence, so we had access to each other's backyards. I never asked permission to go next door, nor did I have to wait for an invitation. I certainly never used the front door! Did I wait for them to approach me? No. Did I ever hesitate or fear to go next door? No, of course not, because I was absolutely sure of my welcome. That's what it's like with God - because of Jesus, I am absolutely sure of my welcome with God. Of course God does draw near to us too, but I feel we shouldn't underestimate what it means that we can draw near to God. I'm not hanging around just waiting for God; I can approach the creator of the universe with confidence, knowing I'll be welcomed, accepted and loved. How great is that??

Reflections on Daniel

I finished reading Daniel a couple of days ago and I'm still reflecting on what I learned from it. It's a difficult book in many ways - even the 'easy' chapters - and it's hard to know quite what to do with it when it's so far outside my experience and talks about things that seem irrelevant to me.

One thing to which I keep coming back is that God is in control of all things, even the bad things. In one way it seems like the early chapters, which focus on events that happen to Daniel, are a prelude to the later chapters that focus on things that happen on a much larger scale. God was in control of the smaller things and therefore can be trusted with the bigger things. The later chapters also show that God is not unaware of suffering; nor is it outside his control or outside his plans for the world (or the individual). There is plenty of suffering prophesied in Daniel, but it's never unexpected and never takes God by surprise. In chapter 11 there is a lot of stuff about a powerful and evil king who will arise, yet the chapter makes clear that "he shall come to his end, with none to help him" (11 v 45). God was in control of the king's demise AND in control of his initial rise to power. All of it was God's plan. Makes me think twice about some political leaders who haven't impressed me... I think I've been trying to ignore the bits in the Bible about God appointing the rulers and authorities... ;-)

Daniel ends with a vision of what will happen when the suffering is complete:

"...there shall be a time of trouble, such has never been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:1-2)

It reminded me what prayers for world peace and justice really mean - they are prayers for Jesus to return to judge the world. That's a pretty sobering thought, particularly in light of the many people I love who do not know Jesus.

Visions

It's really quite hard to know what to do with the visions and prophecies in the Bible. I'm reading through Daniel at the moment and today I read chapter 8, where Daniel has a vision of a ram and goats. Gabriel interprets the vision for him, but at the end Daniel says, "I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it." (Daniel 8 v 27b) While it's somewhat comforting to know that even Daniel didn't quite get it, it does leave me wondering exactly what I'm supposed to take from this? We're working through Daniel in the evening service at church, so I suppose I'll have someone else's views on this in a few weeks... for the moment, what I'm taking from it is that God is in control of all things. Daniel's visions are mostly about the rise and fall of kingdoms and of evil in the world - that's the kind of thing that can be disheartening and leave people wondering what God is doing. I guess it's comforting to know that God is in control of the (seemingly) godless stuff too. (But I'll keep you posted on what is said in the sermon in a few weeks...)

And in other news:
I managed to get a fair bit done on my essay yesterday, so I'm feeling okay about that, even though I'm still way behind in my work. I actually enjoyed what I was studying, too, which is a definite answer to prayer. Honours has not been fun so far, which has been somewhat disappointing given how much I enjoyed the previous three years. Well, I enjoyed the studying... there were plenty of other things going on in life that weren't so enjoyable. Anyway I was starting to feel like this year was tainting everything I've done previously, which would be no way to finish (if I should have to finish after this year).

And while I'm talking about answers to prayer - Melbourne's water storage levels are up to 32%, while Sydney's are up to 55%. They've both increased over the last few weeks; and that's the highest Sydney's has been in ages. Praise God!

Action vs. permission

In Daniel chapter 5, King Belshazzar dishonours God by taking items from the temple and using them at a dinner party. He sees a hand, writing something on the wall, and calls Daniel to tell him what it's all about. Daniel gives him a message from God, which says in part:

You have not humbled your heart... but have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven... the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways you have not honoured. (Daniel 5 v 22,23)

Sometimes I read things like this and think, "Yeah, those foreign kings (or Pharisees or disciples) really need to humble themselves before God, and recognise that he has power over their whole lives." Oh wait... don't I need to do that too? Recognising that God holds my very breath in his hand is a good reminder that he doesn't just permit; he wills and acts. God is not some benevolent and distant landlord who lets us do whatever we like so long as we don't damage the walls and lose our bond - he actually has power and authority, and he DOES act in the world. Yes, he allows us free will, but I don't think this means he simply steps aside for things to take their course - he plans and directs the course of our lives. This is not to say that things are on a set path and can never change... my point is that God is in active control of the world, not passive control.

God's plans, our plans

Most of the time it's impossible for us to see God's plans except in hindsight, although sometimes things 'feel right', or are clearly the right choice (eg, between something legal or illegal). Usually, however, we just have to trust that God has it all under control.

I started reading Daniel today, and have never noticed before how clearly it states that the captivity to Babylon was part of God's plan. "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his [Nebuchadnezzar's] hand..." (Daniel 1 v 2) Although Daniel and his friends were faithful Jews, I still think they must have been wondering why on earth God had allowed them to be taken to Babylon. It's all very well to say, "God is in control of all things" but it gets a bit harder when you're the one being taken into captivity... or losing your job or suffering depression or losing a loved one or writing off your car or whatever it might be. I find I'm good at the '20/20 hindsight' part but not so great at the 'trusting God while the crappy stuff is happening' part. I suppose this is where we need to be reading God's word and praying - how can we remember that God is trustworthy unless we're reading the Bible, where we can see time and again that God is trustworthy and faithful? Sadly, we tend to be creatures who need evidence before we'll believe anything. Well, the evidence is there.

And in other news...
I'm still really loving the new prayer routine. I don't know what it was, but writing my prayers seems to have unblocked whatever it was that was making prayer such a chore for me before. I still pray the 'old fashioned' way too, since it's not always convenient to stop and drag out a prayer diary and a pen, but the times I can sit down in peace and write out my prayers are pretty special. Praise God, eh?

And in other other news...
Uni work is getting back on track slowly. Well, I am getting back on track with it. I wrote a new research/writing timetable that has realistic goals this time - boy, that makes a difference! I'm still behind where I should be, but sticking to this timetable will help get me to a point where I'm not panicking - and won't be trying to write an 18,000 word thesis in the last week before it's due.

Acts 8

I've just been reading Acts ch 8. There's this great bit where Simon, a magician, hears the disciples and realises that God's power is greater than his - he's convicted by their message and their miracles, and he believes and is baptised. Not long after this he sees Peter and John laying hands on people and giving them the holy Spirit. He offers them money to give him the power to give people the Spirit too... understandably, they tell him he's got it totally wrong and urge him to repent.

What I love about it is that Simon is so human - it's so typical of us to say, "Oh, I get it now... hey, wait, what's this shiny heresy over here?" It's very comforting to know that even the best of us can get it completely wrong - but there is correction and truth in the Bible, and there is most definitely forgiveness in Jesus.

Later on in the chapter Phillip meets an Ethiopian eunuch who is reading Isaiah but doesn't understand it. Happily, Phillip is at hand to explain it to him and show how it is about Jesus. The Ethiopian believes and is baptised. I like to imagine what the Ethiopian felt when he realised that God had been working in him to prepare him to know Jesus. "Oh, so that's why I was reading a book I didn't understand, from a religious group that is nothing to do with me!" I was telling someone the other day about how I became a Christian when I was 17 - part of it involved a friend nagging me constantly to come to church with her, and me consistently refusing. One day we were walking home from school and I heard myself saying, "I've been thinking about coming to church." Even as I said it I thought, "Wait.... what?" I couldn't believe the words had come out of my mouth. It confused me at the time but made sense later, since I liked the people at the church, went back every week (willingly, this time!) and became a Christian later that year. God's preparation of us seems strange at the time but it's fantastic to look back on it later and realise that God had his hand firmly upon me the whole time... especially when I think stupid things like, "What if I hadn't gone to church in year 12 - would I be a Christian now?" The answer is yes - God was working in me and couldn't be thwarted by my flippy, spur of the moment decisions. The circumstances might have changed but the end result would have been the same.

Praise God - Jesus is risen!

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

"What things?" he asked.

"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

(Luke 23 v 50 - 24 v 53)

Leviticus

Who would have thought I could learn something from Leviticus? Not me... but thankfully I have the help of Don Carson's For The Love of God devotional book to give me some pointers and some things to think about.

Last night's reading was Leviticus 5, which talks about various sacrifices to be made to atone for sin. It says that if a person can't afford a sacrificial lamb, they may sacrifice a pair of pigeons or a pair of doves, and if they can't afford that they can offer a certain amount of flour. What can I learn from this? Well, obviously I don't need to offer sacrifices for sin, but this chapter shows us something of God's character. By offering alternative sacrifices for the poor, he provides a way for everyone to be able to seek forgiveness for their sins. Forgiveness and atonement in the Old Testament are not just for the wealthy. This beautifully foreshadows the forgiveness we have in the death and resurrection of Jesus - it's not just for the wealthy or for those who appear 'good' and socially acceptable; it's for everyone... and you don't need lambs, doves or flour, because God has paid for it all.

Celebrating the resurrection

With the approach of Easter, and because I've just read Luke 24, I've been pondering our attitude to the resurrection of Jesus. I think it's generally agreed that Christians see it as a good thing, obviously, but we seem to deal with it in a very sombre and reverent manner. I'm not suggesting we need to be irreverent, but need we be so sombre? Look at the reactions recorded in the Bible:

"And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell the disciples." (Matthew 28 v 8)

"They said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us while to talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?'...

And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling....

And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God." (Luke 24 vv 32, 41, 52-53)

In John's account, Peter and another disciple run to the tomb when they hear Jesus has risen from the dead, and later Peter leaps off his fishing boat and swims ashore when he realises the man on the shore is Jesus.

The resurrection should make us marvel at God's power and at his awesome, amazing, wonderful forgiveness - but shouldn't we also have the reaction of those who knew Jesus in the flesh? The common theme there seems to be great joy. I don't think that treating the resurrection as a celebration in any way detracts from the point of the resurrection. Rather, I think the fact that the resurrection brings us eternal life with God should make it doubly joyous - Jesus' horrible, painful death was not the end for him and therefore not the end for us.

I don't really know what 'celebrating the resurrection' looks like in practical terms; I just think it would be nice to see a few more smiles when we talk about it.

Luke 13

I read Luke 13 last night, and was struck by the bit right at the beginning where the people tell Jesus about Pilate mixing the blood of Galileans (presumably those he murdered) with their sacrifices. The people seem to be expecting Jesus to condemn Pilate, but instead he says, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13 vv 2 - 5)

The thing I find interesting about this is that we today have the opposite mindset. We don't hear of disasters like the Boxing Day tsunami and think, "Did they sin?"; we think, "Isn't it terrible that innocent people suffer?" It IS terrible that people suffer - I don't want to trivialise suffering or disasters or murder or disease or anything like that - but we've forgotten that no one is innocent and in fact we all deserve death. We're not victims; we're sinners who have rejected God and who need to repent. Repentance is not a 'lifestyle choice' for the super-religious; it's the only thing that will save us from the punishment we deserve for rejecting God... but until we, as a society, get out of this mindset that believes we are innocent victims we'll never see any need to turn back to God and repent of our rebellion.

Love, Corinthian style

Bible study today was on 1 Corinthians 13 (the 'love' chapter that people are always using for weddings). It's interesting to look at it in context, because if it's viewed in conjuction with chapters 11 to 14 it's far from the warm, fuzzy chapter that it's often considered. It's really an indictment on the Corinthians - "this is how you should be using your gifts and this is how you should be treating each other... and you're doing the opposite". Taken in that light, the bit about 'when I was a child, I thought like a child... when I became a man I put childish things behind me' must have been a real slap in the face for them. And for us, potentially.

We talked about some specific examples. One thing that we all seem to have trouble with is "love keeps no record of wrongs", because holding a grudge seems to come so naturally to us. Often, too, we don't even fully realise we've been storing things up until we get into arguments that quickly degenerate into accusations of "you always do this or that", rather than addressing the one thing that the argument was about in the first place. This is something with which I particularly struggle - often I let things go because I tell myself they're not worth arguing about (and they're not) but find myself stewing over them later, which intensifies my reaction to whatever it was the next time it happens. The solution doesn't seem to be to address the things at the time, because they're often really not worth discussion, so I need to work on genuinely letting go of things instead of merely convincing myself that I've let go of them.

At the end of the study someone prayed for undergrad students who are undertaking exams (of which I am one). He prayed that the students would use the time to rely on God, to pray and to read the Bible... to my shame, I have to say that's probably the last thing I'd think of doing (or praying about) at the moment. Hmmm... time to re-evaluate my priorities...