Day 35 - Purpose secured

Read: 2 Timothy 4:11

THEME: For much of his life John Mark appeared to be living on the edge of the action. For many this is an uncomfortable area to be in, but it can be an ideal place for God to shape us and mature us.

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Many years have passed and Paul is writing to John Mark’s replacement, Timothy. His words indicated a major turnaround: ‘Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry’.

By this time John Mark has been through much. He has long since moved on from Cyprus and may even have furthered his writing career in Rome, taking down dictation from Peter. He would have felt safe with Peter who was a spiritual father figure for him. But here was Paul – sometimes his hero; sometimes his nemesis – saying, in effect, ‘John Mark, you are useful’.

Here is a lesson for us all. No matter how much we may feel side-lined and away from the action, God is at work in our lives changing us and preparing us. We do not have to be in the centre of the action to be at the centre of God’s will.

‘Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’

Romans 15:13

Day 33 - Shifting Patterns

Read: Acts 13:13

THEME: For much of his life John Mark appeared to be living on the edge of the action. For many this is an uncomfortable area to be in, but it can be an ideal place for God to shape us and mature us.

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Yesterday we looked at John Mark’s move to Cyprus with Barnabas and Saul. In Acts 13:13 we see him quitting the team and returning to the security of his Jerusalem home.

Once again circumstances had changed beyond Mark’s influence. Saul, who was now calling himself Paul, seemed to be taking over the lead from Barnabas and recruiting others in a move to expand the team.

Problems seem to have begun with a dramatic encounter at the Proconsul’s house. Barnabas and Saul had been invited, but not John Mark. As Barnabas was speaking to the Proconsul, Saul had intervened and an obstructive magician who had been acting as the Proconsul’s advisor had been struck blind. Saul seemed to think this was fine, possibly an echo of his own conversion experience, and certainly an opportunity for the man to have his inner blindness highlighted by his outer condition. It seemed to be such a turning point for Saul that he had changed his name to Paul, had taken charge, and had gathered others around him in readiness to extend the mission to the mainland.

For John Mark the choice was onward or out and he was opting for out. Being on the edge of the action gives plenty of opportunities for taking offence but taking offence always stunts personal progress.

May God give us the grace to handle today’s challenges with wisdom in a way that pleases Him.

Day 32 - Privileged selection

Read: Acts 12:25 - 13:5

THEME: For much of his life John Mark appeared to be living on the edge of the action. For many this is an uncomfortable area to be in, but it can be an ideal place for God to shape us and mature us.

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As we continue to follow John Mark’s story, we read in Acts 12:25 that he was selected to travel with Barnabas and Saul.

Barnabas was his cousin and in all probability Saul, the converted persecutor of the church, had become something of a hero for John Mark. Saul may have done great damage to the Jerusalem church, possibly affecting Mark’s own household, but young men tend to enjoy dramatic conversion stories, often wishing they were their own.

Arriving in multicultural Antioch from a largely mono-cultural Jerusalem must have been something of a shock, and given the busyness of Barnabas and Saul there must have been times when he wondered why they had uprooted him from Jerusalem. Before long, though, they were on the move again. Barnabas and Saul were being sent to Cyprus. They had been church leaders in Antioch whilst he had been sitting in the pews. Now they had been prayed on their way by the church leadership whilst he had simply joined the team to carry the bags.

It can be tough living on the edge of action but it is a good place to grow. There are advantages in not being the centre of attention.

May God fill us with joy in whatever way we serve him.

Day 31 - Parental Shadows

Read: Acts 12:12

THEME: For much of his life John Mark appeared to be living on the edge of the action. For many this is an uncomfortable area to be in, but it can be an ideal place for God to shape us and mature us.

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Many of us feel we live on the edge of life’s action, just caught up in circumstances rather than determining them. Sometimes we wish we could step in more closely, sometimes we long to stand further away. From Acts 12:12 we can see that John Mark had the benefit of godly parenting. His mother held a prayer meeting in her home, and some believe that she was the widow of the man who hosted the Last Supper in the very same room. They seem to have been people at the centre of the action and Mark grew up under the shadow of their protective care, seeing much from the side-lines and experiencing their joys and pains.

Of course, we can understand his longing to have a role of his own and maybe Mark’s Gospel chapter 14, verse 51 gives an early hint of this – a young man who had set his heart on following Jesus but who eventually came under pressure and fled. But in all honesty, living on the edge of the action does have its advantages. It can be a safe place from which to look and learn; seeing but sheltered; learning but secure. It is good to know that we can be in the centre of God’s will without always being in the centre of the action.

May God fill us with His peace as we live out our lives for Him today.

Day 24 - Residents of a Samaritan City

Read: John 4:27-42

THEME: The Gospel record gives us so many examples of how people engaged with Jesus that it would be hard to find a human challenge that did not in some way meet Him face-to face.

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It is amazing to think that a city was introduced to Jesus by someone who had virtually been hiding in their midst. The first they knew about Jesus being in town was when a woman came running from the direction of the well, shouting ‘come and see, come and see’. As a crowd gathered around her, she breathlessly re-enforced her invitation ‘Come and see me a man 2who told me all that I ever did’.

Looks were exchanged as some began to realise who she was, and started recalling the rumours they had heard about her frequently troubled domestic arrangements. How could she be so excited about someone raking over all of that? But in the midst of their raised eyebrows a question was hitting home, ‘Could this be the Christ?’ Something had definitely happened to her and it was well worth a look, so they went back to the well with her and persuaded Jesus to stay.

After two days, as Jesus moved on, they turned to the woman and said ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we have heard Him ourselves and know that He is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world’. It is impressive to see how a liberated recluse could impact a city after being asked for a drink of water.

In our sophistication we may no longer gather around wells but some of us have conversations around the office water-cooler. We are probably naturally more outgoing than the woman who had made a habit of avoiding crowds.

May we be inspired to tell our story and to introduce others to Jesus.

Day 18 - Lot and the rescue

Read: Genesis 14

THEME: There are some incidents in Abraham’s life that are hard to explain unless we see how God’s grace towards us can make us gracious towards others.

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Although, when choosing land, Lot believed he was selecting the best, it turned out to be the worst, with two very sinful cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, right in the midst of it. It was also a region renowned for strife, with rival kingdoms fighting over the territory.

On one occasion Abram had had to mount a rescue, riding hard with his friends and household to release Lot, and his fellow inhabitants of Sodom, who had been taken into captivity. It was on his return from this battle that Abram was blessed by Melchizedek, God’s High Priest, named as King of Righteousness and King of Peace.

In his commitment to Lot, Abram never wavered. Years later when God determined to judge Sodom, Abraham stood and prayed over the city, believing that even a handful of righteous people, as few maybe as Lot’s wider family, could bring a sinful city to repentance.

Abraham was not presuming upon the grace of God in thinking in this way (as we know, an unrepentant Sodom was destroyed) but he did know the power of God’s grace in his own life and wanted to extend that grace to others.

May we today find ways of extending God’s grace to others.

Day 15 – The wedding guests at Cana

Read: John 2:1-12

THEME: The first two chapters of John’s Gospel record significant encounters at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Meetings that were noteworthy for Jesus were even more important for those He met.

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The wedding guests at Cana were a diverse group and though they all benefitted from the ministry of Jesus they no doubt came away from the event with a range of different impressions.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have left weighing Jesus’ strong sense of timing. He clearly wanted to help but in saying ‘My hour has not yet come’ He was obviously aware of His ultimate redemptive assignment.

The waiters, disciples and family members of Jesus would all have seen His miracle-working power. We know that His disciples went away believing but the waiters may well have left discussing their nervousness when presenting the contents of six large water pots to the Master of Ceremonies. And maybe for His brothers it marked the start of their troubling process of re-assessment – Son of God, or just a brother?

So what of the Master of Ceremonies? He tasted the good wine without knowing where it had come from and congratulated the Bridegroom on its quality, questioning why the Groom had saved the best wine until the inferior wine had gone. As for the Groom himself, he would have just been grateful to have saved face before His wedding guests and might well have headed off with his Bride without knowing the full story.

As we go about our daily lives, it’s worth remembering that many people are experiencing the goodness of God without fully realising it.

Maybe we should look for more opportunities to explain why the new wine is better.

Day 14 - Philip and Nathanael: a ‘bringer’ and the ‘brought’

Read: John 1:43-51

THEME: The first two chapters of John’s Gospel record significant encounters at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Meetings that were noteworthy for Jesus were even more important for those He met.

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Philip, like Andrew, was a ‘bringer’. Andrew had brought Simon Peter to Jesus and in their later ministry Andrew and Philip continued as ‘bringers’, often working together. Philip was involved at the feeding of the five thousand when Andrew brought the boy with his loaves and fish to Jesus, and shortly before the cross it was left to Philip and Andrew to try to introduce some Greeks to Him.

Philip’s career as a bringer began the day he met Jesus. He wasted no time at all in seeking out Nathanael who greeted his enthusiasm over Jesus with a sceptical response. Philip had described Jesus as the fulfilment of the Old Testament law and the prophets but when he had added that he came from Nazareth, Nathaniel had exclaimed ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’

Philip’s ‘come and see’ strategy then worked well. As they approached Jesus together, Jesus commended Nathanael for his lack of guile and, after the briefest of exchanges, Nathanael was saying to Jesus, ‘You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.’

Jesus responded by saying that Nathanael would see even greater things, speaking of a wide-open heaven with the Son of Man (an interestingly humble re-identification given Nathanael’s use of ‘Son of God’) facilitating a flow of angelic ministry between earth and heaven. Surely there is a link here between guilelessness and truly seeing the power of God.

Let us maintain the integrity that opens the way for true demonstrations of God’s power.

Day 13 - Simon Peter: a brotherly introduction

Read: John 1:40-42

THEME: The first two chapters of John’s Gospel record significant encounters at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Meetings that were noteworthy for Jesus were even more important for those He met.

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When Andrew brought his brother to Jesus, Andrew may well have been at an advantage. After all it was Andrew who had benefitted from John the Baptist’s input, and Andrew and his friend who were convinced they had found the Messiah after spending a day with Jesus. We do not know what Simon was expecting as Andrew insisted on this meeting. After all, the encounter has not become famous because of words spoken by Simon, as none are recorded, but for the promptness with which Jesus summed up Simon’s character and reset his future with five simple words, ‘You shall be called Cephas’ (or Petros, meaning a stone).

These words were definitely destiny-shapers. For as Jesus went on to shape Simon Peter’s life, these five words spoken at the outset secured a direction of ever increasing reliability for a man who was initially marred by impetuosity.

Sometimes when God speaks things into our lives we know that it will take time to grasp their true significance. Sometimes it is good to say nothing so that the power of God’s words and the effectiveness of His guidance can have their full impact.

God is in the business of speaking hope into all our lives.

Day 12 - Andrew: a follower finds fresh direction

Read: John 1:35-40

THEME: The first two chapters of John’s Gospel record significant encounters at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Meetings that were noteworthy for Jesus were even more important for those He met.

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Andrew and a friend were standing with John the Baptist when John saw Jesus walking and pointedly said ‘Look, the Lamb of God’. The day before, when they had glimpsed Jesus, John had added ‘...who takes away the sin of the world’. What is more, these comments came after months of John telling all and sundry ‘He is the One who will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire’.

So it should come as no surprise that Andrew and his friend left John to follow Jesus. With so much on offer who could blame them! But after a few paces Jesus turned and asked them what they wanted. Being too polite to reel off their list they simply asked ‘Where are You staying?’, and that led to a day together, that turned out to be the first of many.

Now some think Andrew should have given Jesus that list: sins forgiven, a heart purified, a Holy Spirit empowering, and more. But it is easy for Christianity to become so commodified that our thinking lapses into ‘I’ll follow Jesus so I can get this’ or ‘I’ll try to keep pace with Him so I can receive that’. Of course, we need forgiving, purifying and empowering in order to have a close relationship with Him but it is the relationship that should be our aim.

‘Where are You staying?’ was a good question and ‘Where are You going?’ would have been a useful follow through.

We need to be journeying with Jesus.

Day 11 - John the Baptist: a meeting in the Jordan

Read: John 1:29-34

THEME: The first two chapters of John’s Gospel record significant encounters at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Meetings that were noteworthy for Jesus were even more important for those He met.

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When John the Baptist looked back to the day when he had baptised Jesus in the Jordan and had seen heaven open, he said ‘I didn’t know Him but God who sent me to baptise with water had told me that the One on whom I would see the Spirit descend and remain will be the One who baptises with the Holy Spirit’.

Now the interesting thing is that John and Jesus were related. Their mothers had met when they were pregnant and John’s mother had felt John leap for joy the day that Mary had visited to say she was expecting Jesus. This pre-birth encounter then led on to prophecies at John’s naming ceremony so that John was all set to announce the Messiah’s arrival. But it seems that despite all of this knowledge, John had not been able to bring things together in his mind. It took a revelation from God to bring home the truth when he was already out in the wilderness busy about God’s work.

We can too easily assume that having a few facts and figures and some impressive Bible knowledge will cause everything to fall into place. These are important but an open heart is important too. Even before John recognised Jesus as the Messiah, he had said ‘He who is coming after me is preferred before me and I’m not worthy to undo His sandal strap’.

The more widely we open our hearts, the more likely we are to discover the One we seek.

Day 10 - Nehemiah: chosen while cupbearer to a king

Read: Nehemiah 2:1-5

THEME: We know that God is able to select whomever He wants to do whatever He chooses. He can also raise, mould and empower the least of us to do more than we can ask or imagine. Occasionally we get a glimpse of what catches His attention.

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It seems strange to emphasise that Nehemiah was a cupbearer to a king when the Old Testament book that carries his name records the years he spent away from court overseeing Jerusalem and rebuilding its walls. But it was Nehemiah’s cheerfulness as a cupbearer in the Persian court (a role where tasting carried significant risks) that would have caught God’s attention, marking him out as a suitable governor for Jerusalem.

When news of Jerusalem’s devastation caused Nehemiah to feel downcast, the king was immediately able to recognise his change of disposition, given that this was the first time he had looked sad before his Persian master. After a brief conversation, which Nehemiah had preceded with an even briefer prayer, the king released his cupbearer from exile to spend a season in his homeland, serving God with his customary thoroughness and cheerfulness.

It should come as no surprise that it is in the book of Nehemiah that we read ‘the joy of the Lord is your strength’.

Let us be known as those who serve the Lord with cheerfulness.

Day 9 - Elisha: chosen to be a prophet in place of Elijah

Read: 1 King 19:19

THEME: We know that God is able to select whomever He wants to do whatever He chooses. He can also raise, mould and empower the least of us to do more than we can ask or imagine. Occasionally we get a glimpse of what catches His attention.

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When Elijah fled to Horeb in the wake of the threats that followed his Mount Carmel victory, he was given three anointing assignments. The only one he completed was the ‘anointing of Elisha' and he did it in an unconventional way by casting his coat over the young man‘s shoulders.

For Elisha that was enough! He stopped his ploughing and ran after the fleet-footed older prophet, keen to be his apprentice. So what was it about Elisha that caused God to nominate him?

It was probably his diligence, determination and optimism. There had only been one rainfall in three years and he had just hitched up twelve yoke of oxen to break up the rock-hard ground. He was handling a powerful team with skill and was ready for an even greater challenge. Elijah had been a loner but, now that the famine had ended and the king’s wrath was subsiding, many young prophets were being liberated from protective detention.

Elisha would be serving Elijah but with an eye to the future. Diligence, determination and optimism like Elisha’s will stand us in good stead.

Let us seek to have a servant heart and a willing disposition.

Day 8 - David: Chosen as a shepherd boy but destined to be King

Read: 1 Samuel 17:34-36

THEME: We know that God is able to select whomever He wants to do whatever He chooses. He can also raise, mould and empower the least of us to do more than we can ask or imagine. Occasionally we get a glimpse of what catches His attention.

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It seems that David only just made it through Samuel’s selection process. Samuel knew he was in the right town with the right family, it was just that no-one was presenting him with the right son! To his family David was just an afterthought but to God David was a man after His own heart.

So what had God seen in David when the young man was tucked out of sight for days on end caring for Jesse’s sheep? It was not just his songs. Although a young man who could worship God and look after sheep at the same time was bound to catch God’s attention. There was also an extraordinary level of care, strong enough to have him chasing off bears and lions in a way that went beyond youthful enthusiasm.

To David, the sheep mattered, and in the face of that nothing was too intimidating. He knew how to look to the Lord and how to fulfil his responsibilities in a way that put his challenges into perspective.

Let us not be intimidated as we look to the Lord in the midst of our responsibilities.

Day 7 - Gideon: chosen when ‘thinking small’ seemed a good place to start

Read: Judges 6:11

THEME: We know that God is able to select whomever He wants to do whatever He chooses. He can also raise, mould and empower the least of us to do more than we can ask or imagine. Occasionally we get a glimpse of what catches His attention.

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We do not know exactly when Gideon caught God’s attention, but we know when God caught Gideon’s. It was when Israel’s harvests were being devastated year-on-year and Gideon was secretly threshing wheat in a winepress. The Angel of the Lord recruited him by greeting him as a ‘mighty man of valour’.

To appreciate what God saw in this cautious man we have to ask, ‘Who other than Gideon was doing anything in the face of Israel’s annual harvest fiasco?’ A few handfuls of wheat may not have been much but at least his threshing was saying ‘Why should the enemy have all our grain?’

It was a small act of resistance that God was able to take and multiply, and God had other ways of keeping Gideon from becoming overly self-confident too as he set out his fleeces, rallied his army and then had to dismiss large numbers of his volunteers.

We need to remember that God never despises the day of small beginnings.

God can use us most when we show a strong commitment without growing too big in our own eyes.

Day 6 - Joshua: God’s choice for settling His people into the Promised Land

Read: Exodus 24:13, 33:11

THEME: We know that God is able to select whomever He wants to do whatever He chooses. He can also raise, mould and empower the least of us to do more than we can ask or imagine. Occasionally we get a glimpse of what catches His attention.

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Joshua was just a young man when Moses made him his assistant. He had led a select band against the Amalekites who were picking off Israel’s rear ranks as the newly emerging nation travelled towards Mt Sinai. As he fought, he knew that his victory was dependent on Moses’ prayers.

Shortly afterwards, when Israel, having been lined up on the lower slopes of Mt Sinai, wanted to back away from God’s presence, Joshua alone was prepared to climb up to the higher slopes and wait for Moses. But Joshua not only waited on Moses, he waited on God. When a tent was raised as a divine meeting place Joshua would continue there after Moses had left.

Sometimes we think Joshua first came into prominence at Jericho, or as one of the two spies who were positive about entering the Promised Land. We could say, though, that Joshua had caught God’s attention long before that with his humility and servant-heartedness.

Let us make sure that pride and self-sufficiency do not make us prominent in a way that guarantees we will be overlooked.

Day 4 - The rod that budded

Read: Numbers 17

THEME: To live life well we need to know that God is watching over us and engaging with us, especially when times are tough.

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When times are tough God can set a new direction for our lives.  This was certainly true for Moses’ older brother, Aaron. God was setting up a sacrificial system in the wilderness that would serve the children of Israel well in the Promised Land. A high priest was needed to carry out the most important sacrifices and Aaron was God’s choice.

There was, however, a problem. Aaron had led the people astray when Moses was receiving God’s instructions on the mountain. God had forgiven him but a dented reputation is hard to overcome.

Aaron was fulfilling his new role well. He had been washed, robed, anointed and consecrated and was enjoying serving God in the Tabernacle on behalf of the people. He loved the Holy Place lit by the golden lampstand with its carvings of almond blossoms and fruit, yet leadership comes at a price and some people questioned if he was the right man for the role.

Aaron, along with the leaders of the other eleven tribes, had a staff he leant on that marked his experience and signified his authority. Moses took the twelve rods of the leaders and laid them in the tabernacle overnight. In the morning Aaron’s rod had budded and was covered with almond buds, blossom and fruit. What better confirmation could there be that Aaron, fully forgiven and fully restored, was serving in the right place.

Sometimes God goes to great lengths to bring His reassurance to our lives.

Day 1 - Bitter water made sweet

Read: Exodus 15

THEME: To live life well we need to know that God is watching over us and engaging with us, especially when times are tough.

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The victory at the Red Sea had led to a three day thirst-riven trek into the desert. Suddenly there was a glint of sunlight on some water ahead and hopes began to soar. Optimism was dashed, though, the moment the water was tasted. It was far too bitter for anyone to drink, and Moses bore the brunt of everyone’s complaining.

Within three days Moses had gone from national hero to a focus for discontent. God’s intervention was desperately needed, not so much to salvage Moses’ reputation as to quench the people’s thirst.

A few more days and they would have arrived at the oasis of Elim with its twelve wells and seventy palm trees, but God wanted to reveal His interventionist power. It is easy to walk away disgruntled from bitter water but it is another thing entirely to see bitter water made sweet.

God showed Moses a tree. Given the polluted environment, it did not look particularly flourishing or attractive, but Moses was inspired to uproot it and cast it into the pool. The transformation was instant. The unpalatable was made palatable and the people were refreshed.

Maybe today you will be in contact with bitterness and want to walk away. Two thousand years ago the cross of Jesus stood in the midst of a polluted environment and then as now the benefits of His reconciling death can be applied to any situation demanding transformation.

Let us see the bitter made sweet.