Day 31 - Parental Shadows
May God fill us with His peace as we live out our lives for Him today.
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.
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 26 - Protection and Provision
Let us set our challenges in a more positive perspective so as to have a genuine testimony of God’s goodness.
Read: Psalm 23:1
THEME: Psalm 23 carries a weight of maturity. It is more than a song of a shepherd boy; it is the testimony of one who has been shepherded through a lifetime of pain, challenges and correctives.
In looking afresh at Psalm 23 we can begin by changing the tone of the first verse so that it sounds less like a lullaby in a field and more like an assertion in the face of day-to-day realities. It could be read as a bold exclamation: ‘The Lord! My Shepherd! I shall not want!’ When expressed in such a way we can see clearly that the confidence concerning provision comes from a realisation of God’s shepherding care. He is MY SHEPHERD and because of that... lack will not overtake me.
This is a big testimony from a man who has lived all of his life with major needs, and at times with seemingly only the most limited of supply-lines. How did David feed an army whilst living on the run from Saul? How did David find the wisdom to govern a nation when his only role model was a man who had lived out of his insecurities and fears? His answer was simple; he was constantly shepherded by a Shepherd, and His Shepherd was the Lord. Issues such as food for his troops and wisdom to rule were seen in a fresh light when such truth was asserted.
Regardless of what issues we may face today, let us start with a bold exclamation, ‘The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not lack!'
Let us set our challenges in a more positive perspective so as to have a genuine testimony of God’s goodness.
Day 25 - A Nobleman from Cana
It is a privilege to live our lives relating to Jesus, but we must never lose sight of the transforming power of a moment.
Read: John 4:46-54
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.
Some encounters with Jesus were very brief. The one we look at today took no more than a moment as Jesus continued on His way, and yet it contained a request, a challenge, a plea and an assurance that proved life transforming.
The man who came with the request was a nobleman from Cana who had a sick son and wanted Jesus to come to his home to heal him. Jesus appeared dismissive, almost accusing the man of being an unbelieving miracle-hunter. But the man stood his ground and urged Jesus to come.
Jesus, though, is not limited by time and place. The son’s healing was effected without Jesus having to move and the man was sent on his way with Jesus telling him ‘your son lives’. The apparent dismissiveness of Jesus provoked faith. The nobleman was looking for a miracle and he received one that he would never forget, but the impact Jesus made in that one moment would have gone far deeper.
John chose this encounter as the second of the seven signs around which he built his gospel. It shows that Jesus was not constrained by distance and did not need a public performance in order to meet a need.
It is a privilege to live our lives relating to Jesus, but we must never lose sight of the transforming power of a moment.
Day 14 - Philip and Nathanael: a ‘bringer’ and the ‘brought’
Let us maintain the integrity that opens the way for true demonstrations of God’s power.
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.
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
God is in the business of speaking hope into all our lives.
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.
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
We need to be journeying with Jesus.
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.
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 7 - Gideon: chosen when ‘thinking small’ seemed a good place to start
God can use us most when we show a strong commitment without growing too big in our own eyes.
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.
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
Let us make sure that pride and self-sufficiency do not make us prominent in a way that guarantees we will be overlooked.
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.
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 5 - The serpent on a pole
It need be no different for us today. God still provides remedies in the midst of our wildernesses.
Read: Numbers 21
THEME: To live life well we need to know that God is watching over us and engaging with us, especially when times are tough.
Few things in the wilderness were tougher than the plague caused by snake bites, especially as it hit as they began to move north on the last stage of their journey ready to enter the Promised Land from east of the river Jordan. Part of the pain for the people was that they realised the plague would never have happened if they had stayed faithful to God and relied on His protection.
But with God it is never too late to repent and he provided them with a means of healing that has become a symbol for medical practice worldwide – a snake on a pole. In some ways the remedy was unusual. Moses made a bronze model of a serpent and wrapped it around a tall stake so everybody in the camp could see it. God then healed whoever was prepared to look in the right direction. What is particularly strange, though, is that the snake on a pole has become a symbol for physical healing when its application goes much wider.
Much later Jesus was to apply the snake on a pole symbolism to His own death on the cross. The children of Israel knew that the healing they needed had to include forgiveness for their rebelliousness and that knowing such forgiveness was a large part of the reason why their recovery was like receiving a new lease of life.
It need be no different for us today. God still provides remedies in the midst of our wildernesses.
Day 4 - The rod that budded
Sometimes God goes to great lengths to bring His reassurance to our lives.
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.
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 2 - Bread from heaven
Let us be truly grateful for the true provision that he supplies from heaven.
Read: Exodus 16
THEME: To live life well we need to know that God is watching over us and engaging with us, especially when times are tough.
It is hard to believe that, within a few weeks of leaving Egypt, the children of Israel wanted to go back. It was, of course, a short-sighted delusion, but hunger can make even logical thinkers confused. And they were so famished that dreams of cooking pots and visions of fresh bread warped even their memories of slavery.
God’s generosity in providing manna – as fine as frost on the ground and as sweet as honey to the taste – was only part of His miraculous intervention. The fact that the children of Israel were gracious enough to share out their daily collections, and then benefitted by not having to gather it on the Sabbath, were miracles too.
More remarkable still was the fact that God continued to supply manna afresh, six days a week, while they wandered for forty years in rebellion. No wonder Moses told Aaron to place a jar of manna in the Ark of the Covenant, alongside the two stone tablets of the law. It was a powerful reminder of God’s faithfulness.
Years later, Jesus spoke of Himself as being God’s daily provision for our spiritual hunger. Yet ever since there have been those who have ignored His provision and conjured up false pictures of supposed plenty, hiding the reality of their spiritual hunger.
Let us be truly grateful for the true provision that he supplies from heaven.
Day 1 - Bitter water made sweet
Let us see the bitter 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.
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.