This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
TO PONDER
Throughout the Bible, God uses people who obediently follow him to accomplish his will. Noah was no exception.
Often we think of obedience being something through which we show our allegiance and loyalty. That when we follow God and obediently do his will, he will reward us. Certainly the story of Noah backs up this kind of thinking. Noah was a righteous man and so, as a reward, God saved Noah and his family from destruction during the great flood.
But we have this incredible capacity as humans to make everything about us. What if obediently following God and doing his will is actually how he invites us to witness and experience his faithfulness to us? What if Noah was saved from the flood because his obedience allowed him to trust and see God at work when no one else could?
When we walk faithfully with God we can't help but notice the things he does in us and through us. Each of these events showing us more of who he is, his faithfulness to his promises, and his grace and love towards us his people. The real blessing that comes from obedience, is a deeper relationship with the one we follow.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, you are perfect in all of your ways yet so often it seems easier to forge my own path. Help me to remember that you have a plan for me and that your plans are always good. Help me to see you at work in my life and in the world around me, help me to always walk with you. Amen
“Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.” So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”
TO PONDER
This is the point in the story of Esther where fortunes start to turn and God's plan starts to become a bit more visible.
There are two things going on here today which Jesus speaks of often in his ministry. God raises up the humble and brings low the mighty. So often we work at creating a kingdom for ourselves. A kingdom of wealth, prosperity, power and reputation. Many people often fall into the trap of accruing a life full of these things and think to themselves, "Look what I have done! Aren't I the best!" Unfortunately this even happens among Christians who can sometimes equate their financial success with their earning God's special favour.
The reality is that we all have God's favour through Christ. None of us is any more or less worthy than another. Those who recognise their brokenness and rely on Jesus for their salvation and right standing with God are those who really experience the fulness of God's blessings. Mordecai contented himself with following God despite the difficulty of the situation around him. God used him, like he wants to use us, to bring good news of salvation to the world.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Help me not to think more highly of myself that I should. Remind me that you are Lord of my life and help me to always walk in your ways. Amen
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
TO PONDER:
Timing is everything. In sport and in business, in comedy and in ballet, in agriculture and in relationships. We all know that instinctively. Maybe you've seen a good joke fall flat because it was delivered at an inappropriate moment, or had to say no to an opportunity because it came at the wrong time. Timing is everything and God knows it. In those times when we think he is absent, in the moments where we feel he has lost control of the universe. When we wonder if God has forgotten us, or abandoned us. When we struggle to see him at work in our lives, Paul reminds us to not lose heart. God has always had a plan and a vision for our lives. God always has a clear and wise strategy in place that he executes brilliantly in this most unusual of situations. What he starts, he finishes. What he purposes for our lives will be accomplished. God will show up in your life at just the right time to achieve his goal and his purposes in your life.
PRAYER:
Lord God, you came to earth at just the right time to be our Saviour. Open the eyes of our heart that we may see you active and working in our lives at just the right time. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--
TO PONDER:
This past week I had the privilege of eating birthday cake with one of our faithful members who turned 91. What I will never forget about this person is that whenever you shared highs and lows with this person, they would always share their high but would then add, "I don't have any lows." For the last sixteen years I have known this person, that has been their response. But when you know this person's backstory, dodging bullets in the war, surviving shipwrecks in coming to this nation and a host of other things, it is easy to wonder how they could say that they don't have any lows. For we all know that in the journey of life there are seasons that come and go. Seasons that are wonderful and others that are difficult. Seasons that are bitter and cold and others that are bright and fun and full of light. Many of us have experienced seasons of loss and seasons of growth.
Solomon reminds us of that in the reading today. There is a season for everything and in the following verses he contrasts a lot of things that happen in life. A time to be born and a time to die, a time to weep and a time to laugh. I wonder...what season are you in at the moment? Are you coming out of a dark place into a season of opportunity and growth like winter moving into spring? There is an appointed time for everything...take note of that. What season you are in, there is a God who is there with you. None of these seasons or experiences are wasted. God is with you, God is loving you, God is growing you closer to him.
The 91 year old I ate cake with knows that. As he sat in his chair with a failing mind, having just received the Lord's Supper, I asked him, 'You know that Jesus loves you, don't you." and he looked me in the eyes, nodded his head and simply said "Yup." Whatever season you are going through, that is a truth that remains constant. No wonder he can say with certainty, "I don't have any lows!
PRAYER:
Faithful and loving God, whatever season of life I am currently in, remind me that you are the Lord of the seasons and that your love is constant through it all. Open my eyes to see clearly that you are forever present and with me in every experience, high or low, good or bad, drawing me closer to you. Amen.
As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
TO PONDER:
Watch any reality television show and you quickly realise one thing. You have to have a backstory. Maybe you overcome the odds or life dealt you a cruel blow, you lost a parent or rose up out of poverty or neglect. It doesn't matter what it is, but the story needs to be noteworthy. The backstory has to be marketable. The backstory has to drive up the ratings and mark you as extraordinary in some way.
That's what I love about the Gospel accounts. For the people that Jesus calls don't have a backstory. They are not notable, or marketable. They are just ordinary people going about their ordinary business who are noticed by Jesus and whose lives are transformed by an encounter with him. Jesus initiates. Jesus calls. Jesus redirects their life to something far more significant than they ever believed possible. Jesus transforms their lives and their work into something more meaningful and purposeful than they imagined.
Don't miss the good news in that for you. You don't have to have a backstory, whether good or bad. An ordinary life doing ordinary things that is willing to respond to Jesus' call will do incredible things. In Jesus, you are extraordinary! Celebrate that.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank you that you call and equip ordinary people like me, for your purposes. Amen.
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
TO PONDER:
" I should have learnt by now." 'I should be able to cope better than this." 'I shouldn't let those things affect me so much.'
All of those are actual comments that I have heard from people in the last week. Good people who are down on themselves. Good people who are struggling with the 'stuff' of life. Good people who feel disappointed in themselves because their expectations of themselves have not been met. If you too fall into that category, Paul wants you to know unequivocally that God is not done with you yet. His work, his transformation in your life is not finished. It's incomplete. You are a work in progress. He is still refining, reshaping, rubbing off the rough edges, restoring the broken bits, healing the wounded parts, perfecting in Christ his beautiful masterpiece in you. You were created on purpose, for a purpose. What you can be sure of though is this. What God has started in you, he will finish. For God never fails to finish what he begins.
So when you are tempted to have a go at someone when they don't meet your expectations, be gracious and remember there is a work in progress happening in their lives. When you are tempted to berate yourself because you fail the expectations you have set for yourself, be gracious to yourself and remember God is not finished his work in you yet. Remain in him. Stay close to him. Rely on him. For when the time comes that Christ calls you home, the work will be completed. And what is seen will be very good. That's his promise.
PRAYER
Lord God, shower me with your grace again today that my life may be more today what you want it to be than it was yesterday. Remind me over and over again that you are not finished with me yet but you will complete what you start. Thank you Jesus. Amen.
Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
TO PONDER:
It never ceases to amaze me how often we see athletes celebrate too early and ease up before they cross the finishing line. We saw it again at the Commonwealth Games where Jamaican runner Nigel Ellis eased up and failed to duck his head forward, thinking he was through to the finals, only to have Aussie sprinter Jake Doran pip him at the post. Or Carlton who panicked with 60 secs to go and lost a match to Melbourne that would have seen them play finals football for the first time in 9 years.
It's important that we finish well and finish strong. Jesus shows his disciples this in the reading today. "He loved them to the end". What a striking comment. It could mean "end" in sense of conclusion or termination, or "end" in sense of his goal, aim, or fulfilment. The Gospel writer probably intends both meanings. Jesus loved his disciples to the absolute end of his earthly life and ministry among them. He also loved them completely and fully, without reservation or condition. That was the purpose of his mission.
As disciples of Jesus, that also is our calling. Later on Jesus says, "Do as I have done to you." How will we love the people around us today? Not pulling up short thinking we are nearly home, but completely and fully as a witness to the love Jesus has for us. Finish strong. Love boldly and fully today in everything that you do.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me completely and fully even to the cross and grave and back. Strengthen me with your love today, that my love for others may be complete in you and go the full distance. Amen.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
TO PONDER:
Photographers spend hours waiting for that perfect shot. Artists invest copious time creating a piece that can be enjoyed for ages. Sporting greats spend vast amounts of time and effort to perfect their craft. Chef's devote enormous hours to create their signature dishes. You are God's workmanship, his masterpiece as some translations say. But here is the thing about masterpieces. They take a long time to create and they don't happen overnight. You are a work in progress and day by day God is working in your life as you hang out with him, making the masterpiece of you even more beautiful. You may not always see the transformations, but God is at work behind the scenes, making subtle changes in your life. Masterpieces are always detailed and intricate. They need time to be appreciated. Masterpieces are also one of a kind, so are you.
As you begin this day and this week, remember God is at work in your life, creating a masterpiece. You are already on display in the world...so let his light shine on you and reveal the beauty that brings joy, hope and vibrancy to the lives of others.
PRAYER:
Lord God, continue to make my life a work of beauty that brings glory to your name. Amen.
``For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?"
TO PONDER:
One of the things I used to love about taking chapel in my former congregation was seeing the lengths kids would go to in order to get your attention to answer a question. The arm would be stretching up or waving around. Some kids would get up on their knees to try and appear taller to make you notice them. Others would verbalise along with their arm gestures so that you would pick them.
Mordecai has discovered the King's edict to exterminate the Jews and when God brings a problem to your attention, he wants YOU to do something about it. Now Mordecai does not have the ear of the King, but he knows the Queen, Esther so he tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth and ashes, goes outside the palace and makes a scene, weeping and wailing as loud as he can. He may not get the King's attention, but he intends to get Esther's! And when he does, he brings the problem to her attention. Naturally she is afraid. But as Mordecai reminds her...maybe God has placed you where you are...for this moment. To do something in his power and strength. What problem has God brought to your attention, that he wants you to do something about today?
PRAYER:
Lord God, I admit there are many problems that you bring to my attention, that I simply ignore, hoping they will go away. So often I want to help, but I am afraid of the consequences or I feel powerless to change things. Fill me your Spirit of power that I may act, doing what I can today, knowing that through that, you will work to achieve your good purposes. Amen.