Category Archives: Bible

Ezekiel 11

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Ezekiel 11 is a chapter of destruction and hope. A prophecy of Israel’s imminent downfall, and a future time when they would be restored. “I will gather you from the peoples…and I will give you the land of Israel…a new spirit I will put within them…that they may walk in my statues and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

This is the comfort provided by God to a devastated Ezekiel, that God would once more serve their God and have a relationship with Him.  This is a hope continually set before us too, a weekly re-establishment of our relationship with God after a week of sin.  Let us rededicate our lives to God this morning, knowing that we too have been called to be God’s children and to be part of that time when Israel will once more be God’s people.

2 Kings 19, Luke 5

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Jesus said “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance”. He demonstrated his authority to forgive sins by healing the paralysed man.

Like Levi, we’ve been called to leave everything this life has to offer behind us, to repent and heal our relationship with God. Like Hezekiah, we’ll experience challenges to our faith, but we should follow his example and take those challenges to God in prayer. “So now, O Lord our God, save us, please”

Luke 4

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Jesus quotes Isaiah, saying that he had been sent “to proclaim good news to the poor… proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

Like the audience in the synagogue that day, we too have been given good news, as Paul describes “the mystery of Christ… that the Gentiles are fellow heirs…partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”  We’ve been set free from the captivity of sin, had our eyes opened, and been offered everlasting liberty from the pain and suffering of a mortal life.

 

2 Kings 17

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In 2 Kings 17 we read about Samaria being taken into captivity by the Assyrians, and the reason God allowed that to happen. “the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God…  did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God”.

Israel had built high places, images and groves, and burnt incense in their worship of idols. They’d done this secretly, hoping to hide their actions from God. God sent prophets to tell Israel to return to serving the true God, but they wouldn’t hear.

Events like this remind us how easy it is to deceive ourselves, to make other things in our life a priority over God, and try to hide it. Like Israel, God has given us an opportunity to repent and turn again to Him.

2 Corinthians 3-4

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Paul says that God “has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ“.  We are being transformed by this light, the reflection of God’s glory, into the same image, that of Jesus. But it is clear that this transformation is not a result of our own power, rather this treasure is in jars of clay. We are constantly afflicted but never destroyed, so that the life of Jesus might be manifest in our lives.  Paul encourages us not to lose heart, for “he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also“.  We are being prepared for “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison“, so we should look beyond the things we can see today to the unseen glorious future, when we will live for eternity united with our God.

2 Kings 7, Lamentations 3

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Elisha described to the king an impossible sounding scenario. During a siege so severe that women resorted to eating their children, Elisha says that the very next day fine flour and barley would be so abundant it would be sold cheaper than dove’s dung. Of course Elisha’s prophecy is accurate, and the siege ended the next day, although the disbelieving captain did not live to enjoy it. This story is great for reminding us that, no matter how impossible God’s word may sound, it will certainly come to pass. Today we are besieged by the effects of sin, with all the sorrow that it brings. But one day that will be over, and ‘tomorrow’ will bring the kingdom.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord”

 

 

1 Corinthians 12-13

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As individuals, we are all members of the one body of Christ. “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose“.  As part of the same body, Paul exhorts us “that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.“

As part of the body of Christ, there is something far greater than the various gifts of the holy spirit that the Corinthians placed in such high regard, which Paul goes on to describe as love. “So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  Love is an active demonstration of the way we manifest God’s character. Jesus showed us the greatest form of love in his sacrifice, and as imitators of Jesus, showing love must also be our goal.

Jeremiah 51, 1 Corinthians 11

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1 Corinthians 11. We hear it quoted nearly every Sunday. “Be imitators of Paul, as he is of Christ“, and “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”  The idea of examining ourselves is critical to living a life acceptable to God.  We need to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only“, not ignoring the natural face we see in the mirror but changing it to reflect God’s character. Paul also stresses the importance of unity, and that Christ is our head.

The lack of self examination is the reason Israel struggled so much to serve God, focused instead on being like the nations around them instead of looking inwards, to the tabernacle and the glory of God it represented. Yet God through Jeremiah still says “For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts.”  There is always hope. The one “who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens” has power to both bring judgement on nations such as Babylon, but also power to forgive those that turn to Him.

Jeremiah 50

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Jeremiah prophesies the destruction of the nations that have been oppressing Israel, Babylon and Assyria. “Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done.”  These nations had been given the chance to punish Israel for their disobedience, but had gone too far.  “All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go. Their redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth.“

Even though the people of Judah and Israel were being punished, God still cared for them, took an active role in protecting them.  Through Jeremiah, God reminds the Israelites that He is in control, that He is unique and all powerful, and that even though they had “sinned against the Lord”, they would in future say “Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten”, and for this reason God had mercy on them.

This is a great example of God’s long-suffering and mercy, and reminds us that God is always in control, waiting for us to return to Him so that He can work with us to shape our lives.

1 Corinthians 8-9

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Paul reminds us that we are running a race, but one very different to the races his readers were used to. The race we run is not for a perishable wreath, but an imperishable one. Although the first place has already been won by Jesus, everyone that makes progress in this race is counted as a winner.  This race requires one to run with direction and purpose, not aimlessly like a boxer punching the air.

This is a race that Paul wanted everyone to win, making himself a servant to all, that “by all means I might save some“.  Like Paul, helping others along the way is a critical part of running our race. Stopping along the way to spend time with those in need, or who have stumbled, is as much the point of the race as progressing towards the finish line. “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.“