Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater!

Morning: Psalm 97, 99; Judges 13:1-15; Acts 5:27-42

Evening: Psalm 94; John 3:22-36

Christians have sometimes been persecuted and ridiculed.  In today’s story from Acts, Gamaliel, a wise council member, advises those who want to persecute Jesus’s followers: “Keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.”  So, were 80 generations of Christians mistaken?  No, the wisdom of Gamaliel still suggests that something about this Jesus movement is ‘of God’.  Some parts may be misguided, but don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

You don’t need to ask a person if they were born

Morning: Psalm 89:1-18; Judges 12:1-7; Acts 5:12-26

Evening: Psalm 89:19-52; John 3:1-21

Soul-full, spiritual maturity in a person is immediately recognizable.  When someone draws on deep spiritual wisdom, you know it.  They show a dash of humility, a pinch of patience, a modicum of kindness, the ring of truth and the aroma of love.  They trust a power greater than their own.  This is what Jesus meant when he said that if people are to see God’s dream for humanity and for the world, they must be ‘born from above.’  When they are, it’s obvious. They don’t necessarily call themselves ‘Christian’… Some follow Jesus’ Way without knowing it.

When are you going to get real faith?

Morning: Psalms 66, 67; Judges 11:1-11, 29-40; 2 Corinthians 11:21b-31

Evening: Psalms 19, 46; Mark 4:35-41

The story of Jesus calming the storm – Lake Galilee can be very dangerous – is a microcosm of the larger story of God’s providence … that the powers of evil and chaos will not prevail in the end.  Life throws all kinds of troubles in our direction and we have a choice: we can face them with faith; or be overwhelmed with fear.  Faith leaves you free to respond to the inevitable crises; but fear takes away your freedom and leaves you prone to just 2 Corinthireact.  Which is why Jesus challenges the disciples to start putting their faith in God.

The Earth as a Temple

Morning: Psalms 87, 90; Judges 9:22-25, 50-57; Acts 4:32-5:11

Evening: Psalm 136; John 2:13-25

For many of the indigenous peoples of the earth, the land and the heavens are holy – they honour and protect the earth as a holy place, where we are at one with the universe and with ourselves. Jesus throws the money-changers out of the Temple because they ruin the holy place of prayer, the place of meeting with God.  I cannot help thinking of the world as a Temple, too, and that it’s time we started treating it as the holy place of meeting that it is, and not just as a market-place, full of valuable resources and commercial opportunities.

A taste of new wine

Morning: Psalm 88; Judges 9:1-16; Acts 4:13-31

Evening: Psalms 91, 92; John 2:1-12

Jesus’s miracle of wine from water shows his radical newness: “no-one keeps the best wine until last.”  Jesus represents the promise that, in the end, everything will be made new.  The other Gospels tell how ‘new wine’ breaks old wineskins. But our world urgently needs the new paths Jesus calls us to tread. Surely the couple from the wedding at Cana lived the rest of their lives with extra zing and vitality because of the new and vital energy that Jesus helped them to taste on their wedding day.  When you think you’ve tasted everything … suddenly, a new vintage!

God beside you

Morning: Psalm 145; Judges 8:22-35; Acts 4:1-12

Evening: Psalms 85, 86; John 1:43-51

Nathanael, who is “genuine through and through”, is astonished that Jesus knows what kind of man he is, just from seeing him in passing.  Jesus reminds him that, at Bethel, Jacob dreamed of a ladder connecting earth and heaven.  In effect, Jesus says: ‘Come with me and you’ll see something even more astonishing than a Messiah … You will see earth joined to heaven, a reality beyond your imagining.  Come and see!  Can you imagine it … that God is beside you? It’s what Jacob dreamed of; it’s what you will actually see.’

Come and see … this is for everyone

Morning: Psalm 119:97-120; Judges 7:19 – 8:12; Acts 3:12-26

Evening: Psalms 81, 82; John 1:29-42

Near the beginning of John’s Gospel, John calls Jesus “the Lamb of God”, who by his death will heal Israel’s separation from God, like the sacrificial lambs of old.  John’s message is radically different, though, because Jesus is ‘the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.’  Jesus does not only restore the broken relationship between Israel and the Creator; Jesus heals the whole creation by bringing it into right relationship with the Creator. Jesus calls his disciples: “Come and see” (including us if we choose) and share in this healing work.  There is lots of it to do!